The Swan
by CidySmiley
Summary: Three Clans. One Woman. A fierce competition between the three largest clans in Konoha, over the heart of a reluctant lady.
1. Chapter 1

**Before you start the story, you ****must**** know: **You will be extremely confused if you do not read this author note. SO, please take the time to pick this apart before reading the fic. There are many significant changes I am making to the Naruto world to make this story work and they go as follows: This is a non-massacre story. Itachi didn't off everybody, and Sasuke doesn't off Itachi,Shisui is alive, everyone is kicking. Neji Hyuuga is as old as Itachi is. Sakura was not on team seven, as a matter of fact, she didn't even live in Konoha. She's recently moved, she has a family and a really important role and power in this story. Like a magical uterus. Play along. Naruto and Sasuke were on a two man team appointed by the Hokage of the time. Kakashi was still their sensei. The Hyuuga's and Uchiha are feuding. The Clans are huge, including the ones that are traditionally small in the mythology, that of the Inuzuka and Akamchi and such. Thanks for playing along.

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"Just so you're aware, this is an extremely invasive and archaic tradition"

The Hokage was arching a blonde brow at the clan members dotted around the table, doing this once a month was going to make her go grey. The customary meetings with the clan that happened every month on the fifteenth was something she had to drink to. Konoha took its clans seriously, and it drove her nuts.

"It's one I'll be reevaluating with the counsel later on in the year" She left out the "_The part of the counsel that you people are not in." _

She tapped her nails on the stack of manila folders in front of her, and ushered Shizune over so she could pass them out. The clan heads took them, and tucked them in. The tradition of giving away all the information of all the women in Konoha to these misogynists was giving her the goosebumps, but what the clans want, the clans got. If the clans are going to breed of their sons like dogs, then who was she to try and stop them.

"All I ask is that you give these families respect. Do not barge into their homes and demand their daughters marry your sons without some sort of courting process"

There were things in life the Great Slug Sage, didn't know and understand, like why the Clans continued to pretend it was the stone age, why they sent their Sons out on 'courting missions' to produce the most powerful heir, but she had to hand it to them, so far their little missions were turning out to be a success, she'd had more prodigy's come from the Hyuuga and the Uchiha than she really cared to admit, they really knew how to pick them. The only person who blew Itachi out of the water was Kakashi, and that's saying something. Fugaku and Mikoto were even a match made in the counsel room at the Uchiha manor. And they did well, producing two strong boys, just like they wanted.

Tsunade idly wondered if they knew that men picked the sex of babies.

The Hyuuga weren't far behind, Neji was a prodigy in his own right, for not having gone through traditional Ninja Academy they couldn't accurately see where his progress was as he developed, he had the strongest Byakugan ever seen in the clan, she had to wonder if he was created in a bottle. Hisashi Hyuuga was a vicious man, almost as vicious as Fugaku Uchiha, who was an absolute snake in the grass. And giant pain her ass. He was greedy, demanding, and rude, he didn't care whose back he had to step on to remain the strongest clan in all of Konoha, and if that included stepping on the Hokage's, then so be it. He had an army of black haired inbred freaks ready to strike at any moment, taking over the whole west side of the village.

Tsunade wondered if they knew she thought things like that about them. They probably shouldn't.

The war that was raging between the Hyuuga and the Uchiha was tearing Konoha academy's apart. The children were literally – there was not figurative speech anywhere in this – beating the crap out of each other.

The only clan that Tsunade could really appreciate were the Nara's, now those were some decent people. Hard working, mix breeding, open minded, lazy ass people. Her kind of people. The Yamanaka's were a bunch of blonde bimbo's … Inoichi was never able to produce that boy, just one loud girl. The Nara's tossed their manila folder in the trash, they didn't do the whole tradition things. Usually the Inuzuka's looked, but didn't touch and the Akimichi could care less. Traditionally, it was usually a showdown between the Hyuuga's and the Uchiha.

_And then there were the Haruno's … _

Which weren't really a clan, she reasoned. Just a family, a large, sweet family. Having moved to Konoha five years prior, they were the sweetest people she'd met to date. Nalla, the mother of the family, had taken the breath from the Hokage with her kindness, working in the Hokage office library as the official bookkeeper and librarian. She was the mother of six sons, and one daughter, as was usual for her family.

Tsunade felt like she was betraying the women by basically handing her daughter over on a platter.

The Haruno's moved to Konoha for peace and a place to begin a gain after losing their patriarch, now they would be pursued. The Haruno women had a unique… _trait_. Tsunade herself had been the one to note it. Now she was regretting it. The Haruno women had a chakra enhanced uterus. She thought it had to be an adaptation from the Clan's originally belonging to the mountains. On a cold mountain side, where the life span was shortened, the body, had to find a way to preserve the life of the strongest child. Just like the Hyuuga's had thicker veins and the Uchiha had night adapted pupils, the Haruno, had the ability to strengthen any Kekkei Genkai of any male child, the hold within their bodies. Their live spans are much longer than normal. Basically, it's like good gene's on steroids. Tsunade stood from the table, preparing to take her leave. She'd left Naruto in her office and was scared when she got their half the village would be gone.

"Just so you know, I know who you're going to pick, and all I ask is that when they say no, because they will, you leave them alone."

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With that she left the clans to pick over the files without her watchful eyes and made her way to her office. Each step she felt like running to the Library and telling Nalla to take Sakura far, far, away from here.

The first letter came to the Haruno's on a weekend. Which was odd, actually, there were a lot of odd things about the letter. The first, was that it came on a weekend, mail was delivered on weekdays, and just dropped in the mailbox and left their to rot until one of her children were forced to check the mail as it basically exploded out of the box. Next, was that it was hand delivered from a clan messenger. He was dressed in the white garb that she'd seen Hyuuga's wear. With it came a bundle of white flowers, that she'd never seen in her life, and a white sash. She threw it all down on the counter after ushering the delivery boy away, she stood with her hands on her hips, beside her red-head sister staring the letter down, Nalla, with Veva, her sister opened the letter, which was crested together with wax.

It read:

_Dear Haruno Family, _

_ It has come to our attention you have a very special gift, and a very beautiful daughter. We'd like to invite you and your family to a dinner with the honorable Main Branch Hyuuga family in order to discuss the official courting of your Daughter and our beloved first Son, Neji Hyuuga. _

_Master Hyuuga is an ANBU captain, a specialist in tracking, an earth, water, and weapons specialist. He behold the strongest Byakugan ever seen in Hyuuga history, he has been manner trained, he is an excellent marksmen. _

_ We believe the young Haruno would make an excellent addition to the Hyuuga clan. Please consider the flowers a gift from us, they come from our private prized garden. A messenger will return in three days' time for your response. _

_ Yours truly, _

_Hyuuga Main Branch. _

_Print. _

Nalla had been dreading this day, since the day the doctor informed her that she was having a daughter. While she loved all of her children equally, and would never really want to change things about them, she sometimes wished Sakura was born a male. Like her brothers. Instead, she was born soft, feminine, female. Sakura was Nalla's prized possession, a nurse, the type of women to save a bunny in the forest, to help an old man cross the street, or to pick flowers with the academy girls, Nalla knew one day the clans would come for her. She didn't know they do it so quickly.

It always got out, no matter if they were still in the moutains, in the Sand Village or wherever they always found out, that something was different about Haruno women. It was both a blessing and a curse, her late husband, the most wonderful man, had come out of nowhere, but really, she picked him to avoid going to a prestigious clan in Sand. If she was already married, they couldn't come after her , that didn't stop them from trying to take her husbands life. Or coming after Sakura. But Nalla had heard of the Hidden Leaf Village, a beautiful land, with beautiful possibilities, while they still had large clans, those clans had never heard of the Haruno's.

At least not yet.

And now they had.

Nalla thought of her sweet daughter, and with her sister, thought up the most appropriate response.

_Hyuuga Main Branch,_

_ We are delighted that we were considered, and so humbled. Thank you for the flowers, but we do not believe that Sakura is fit for clan life, we always believe it should be our daughters choice who she should marry, to set her up for courting might hurt her feelings. _

_ Again, we are so humbled to even be in the ranking. But no thank you._

_ Respectfully yours, _

_ Veva and Nalla Haruno_

The next later came in a much more dramatic fashion. Two messenger boys arrived, in full black traditional garb, red sash's, this time, there was no letter, two decorative scroll was handed to them, wrapped in red ribbon, with it came a thick bundle of flowers, a thermos, a basket of bread, a knitted blanket, and a fan. A fan she recognized. She almost didn't open the scrolls.

The first one she opened was in elegant cursive. She could hear the saccharine dripping from the letter, she pulled one of the still warm bread rolls out of the basket and ate as she read, handing her props to the chef.

_Dearest Haruno Family, _

_ We wish you the highest regards, enclosed the Matriarch has included bread, blanket and soup, we've heard of the sickly state of the young Ms. Haruno and hope for a quick and painless recovery, please do inform the Uchiha if anything is needed for her care, the clan is prepared to help in any way they can. _

_ The Main branch has written today to ask for a most formal invitation of courtship of the youngest Ms. Haruno. In hopes of marriage to our eldest heir, Uchiha, Itachi. A fulfilling life ahead of her, the Uchiha pride themselves in having the best the world can offer, we have invited Nalla and Veva Haruno for a luncheon with the main Branch to discuss the possibility of courtship and to meet the elder master Uchiha, please consider, yours truly, _

_Patriarch, Fugaku Uchiha_

_Counsel members, Suri and Misha Uchiha. _

_Best Intentions, _

_Uchiha. _

The second letter looked something like a resume, Nalla could only shake her head that a family could document their children this down to the wire, they could probably tell her when he got his first erection or when he discovered boobs weren't just fleshly flabs.

Uchiha Itachi Graduated from the academy at age seven, the second youngest to ever graduate from the academy. He mastered his Sharingan at age eight. He passed his chunin exam at age ten, and his Anbu, became an Anbu captain at age thirteen, has been moved around ranks in Anbu ever since, was even a candidate for Hokage.. This was ridiculous. The poor child probably had PTSD or something equally demeaning. Truthfully she'd met him before, only briefly in the booking room, he was quiet, polite, and didn't stare at her hair, which made him an okay human in her book, but not okay to marry her daughter.

_These rolls are ridiculous, _she thought. She'd must have had three of them by now, in her defense, Sakura's respiratory infection wouldn't allow for her to eat rolls anyway…

Nalla simply copied the notice she'd made the Hyuuga's and made the decision to send it off the next day.

"mama.."

Nalla spun on her heel. Sakura leant against the door, her frame was pale, and shaky, she was wheezing, her eyes had circles under them even though she'd been sleeping for days.

"Sakura! Get back in bed this instant!" Nalla moved to navigate her daughter back to the guest room where she'd been resting.

"Where'd you get all those flowers?" She was mumblings,

"I'll tell you when you're better."

"Mama …. It's happening … isn't it."

"I'm sorry Sakura."

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**I do not own Naruto**

**Review: Keep my juices flowing. I reply to all reviews let me know if you have a question. **

**The chapters will get longer, I just needed to introduce you to what the vibe was. **

**Thank you**


	2. Chapter 2: I Spy

**I'm astounded by the response!**

**I love it!**

**A few clarifications are at the bottom, some questions I have for you and answers of questions you asked me!**

**I do not own Naruto, IF I did … well.. bad things, y'all!**

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Sakura was aware of a few things as she first came to.

The first being that she was in the hospital, in a comfort room. There was a bed, a big window, a couch, where she could see her mother's floral print luggage bags, she could see her own dark green sack on the floor. Her mother was nowhere in sight.

She was then aware that it was night. She could see the moon outside of her window, and the Hokage monuments, some lights farther back in the city in the Nara district. She shifted around, adjusted the breathing mask on her face, and then realized something else. It smelled like flowers in the room.

And there was a strange man at the end of her bed.

She yelped, jumped deeper into the thin mattress, her mother must have taken her grandmothers quilt from the house because it was on the bed, she covered her body with that too. She couldn't speak with the mask banded to her face.

The man at the end of the bed bowed deeply. He was in white robes, tied with a white sash, his long brown hair was tied back with a perfectly rounded brown leather cord.

"My deepest apologizes Haruno-Sama, I hadn't meant to startle you. I am Himachi, the Hyuuga messenger, I come baring gifts of the Hyuuga manor" He was still bowed, she slowly sat up just a bit, adjusted the mask again, and looked at him. His hands were behind his back, but she could see the green tips of stems and big white bulbous flowers.

He stood and presented the gifts, Sakura yelped again as he came down to one knee and held the flowers and white porcelain vase out for her inspection at the end of the bed.

She nodded quickly and gestured toward the window ledge. He stood and put the flowers in the vase with quick efficiency, and turned back to her.

"Do you need anything Haruno-sama?"

She quickly shook her head in the negative and he took his leave, but not after another formal bow and shutting the door soundly.

Sakura edged the air mask off to see if she was alright breathing on her own and got a swift negative as she began to pant without the assistance of the machine.

She took another look around her room and gasped. She sank under her quilt and looked at the floral garden that was left side of the room.

Black and blue flowers came spilling out of baskets, vases, and some where just wrapped and laid on the four chairs that were supporting her gifts. She noticed a few cards, some scrolls, and a balloon that she assumed was from one of her brothers.

She wondered why they were all there, and then she became aware of the conversation that she'd had with her mother the night that she'd been taken to the emergency room. Sakura reached up and made sure a knitted cap or scarf was wrapped around her hair. The Clans were trying to buy her affections.

_Well_, she knitted her brows together, she wouldn't let them. Sakura didn't understand things like this, why these things were so important. It had always been her full intention to get married because of love, not because some weird mountain adapted uterus. Her mother and father faired fine, and while her mother suffered quite a bit before meeting her late husband, she still married for love and has profited greatly. Sakura's brothers are all strong, and she inherited her father's healing chakra.

If those clans thought she was going to roll over for a bundle of flowers, they had another thing coming.

Sakura didn't know much about the Clans of Konoha. Other than the fact that there were four leading clans, the Uchiha, the Hyuuga, the Nara, and the Sarutobi. In that order from largest to smallest.

The Hyuuga's had a large gated compound on the east side of the village, within in it was the main house, the branch house, and all the little homes that made up the Hyuuga clan members. She'd only met one Hyuuga, a girl just a bit younger than her, who came in for a physical. Their opalescent eyes were more than a big discerning and Sakura found it hard not to stare at the absolute blankness in the eyes of the very formal, polite girl. She noticed that the women traditionally had dark hair and the men had dark brown long hair that was tied with a cord.

The north side was taken up by the Sarutobi's, a noble bloodline that was talked highly upon in the streets of Konoha. Their clan was spread across the city, but the main branch was over up north, near the great Hokage forest and the academy.

On the south side was the thick forest that surrounded the laid back, much liked, Nara Clan. The Nara's were always talked highly of, but that was mostly because they were such a deceptive little clan. What looked like lazy, simple people were much more than that; They could easily turn the village around with their natural genius, they had more clan members in the Counsel then all the Clan's combined and more Nara's worked in the Hokage office than any other. They weren't power hungry, but they did quietly remind others that they were there, and dangerous.

On the east side of the village was the dark, sprawling metropolis of the Uchiha compound. A wrought iron gate, combined with thick dark wood that sprawled tens of feet up in the air kept people from looking in, but with the red eyes of the Uchiha, they could see out. Sakura had passed by only once on her way to the market district, taking the long way on a nice day. It seemed that side of the town was colder, darker, more dangerous. Large black crows clucked on the fence of the compound and she hurried passed.

She didn't know who was vying for her affections but knew the Uchiha and Hyuuga had to be in the running. If she were being honest with herself, and allowing herself the opportunity to even think to choose one of the barbaric clans she would fold herself into, it would probably be the Sarutobi. The quiet, calm, peaceful people seemed to be the best of both worlds. While she didn't see herself sinking into clan life, she was at least giving herself the opportunity to check.

She knew that strict clan life like those lived in Hyuuga and Uchiha households was not for her. Was she allowed to take sick ducks to a large, cold compound, or a spotless one like the Hyuuga.

Were her children going to have red eyes, or white?

More importantly, which was more creepy?

Her thoughts were interrupted as the door to the room was slid open and a nurse in a customary white uniform waltzed in.

"Good morning Sakura-Chan!"

Sakura recognized the uppidy night nurse as Mita, an elderly women with turquoise hair and matching eyes, full of mischief. She was queen of pranks around the night crowed, and much loved. Sakura was instantly comforted.

"Boy, I'm sure glad you're awake. It's dead out there, you don't mind if I sit for a moment do ya?" Sakura shook her head in the negative and removed the mask from her face for a moment to speak.

"How long have I been here?" Her voice was raspy and rough from disuse, she was just at a whisper.

"Three days, sleeping. Your mother went home tonight to help her back out, she's been on that lumpy couch for days now. She was also getting the sniffles from all the flowers in here." Mita was picking the pins out of her hair, and brushing out her hair with the brush that was on Sakura's stand next to the bed.

"You've been a popular girl. The whole hospital is hopping with the news." Sakura raised a pink brow at Mita.

"You've got quite the visitors list. First night you were here the Uchiha's unloaded a delivery of flowers into our lobby, the morning after that Mikoto Uchiha was here, got into a little discussion with your mother in the hallway, and left. The day after that the Hyuuga's were here. Fumiko Hyuuga came with home knitted blankets and soup, she had her little guard with her, interrogated the nurse who was working here to see if you'd be fine, those matriarch's are something else. Then, after that, came the patriarch's. Fugaku Uchiha came and spoke with your mother, Hisashi came as Fugaku was finishing up with your mom and then the two of them got into this weird stare down in the hall. It was hilarious, those two old men huffing and puffing in the hall. After that its been pretty mellow, just a few guards coming and going asking on an update on your condition, we haven't given them any though, you know, doctor patient confidentiality."

Sakura's head was spinning with the news. People were fighting outside her door?

Strange women were showing up and leaving gifts, all this talk of patriarch and matriarch.

"What'd you do anyway? Discover the secret for longevity? I'm pretty sure Fumiko Hyuuga hasn't aged in twenty years."

Sakura shrugged, she was just born this way, and suddenly she was being punished for it. She lifted the mask, "Magic uterus and all that jazz." She put it back down again as her chest started to tighten.

"Who're you going to pick?" The older women asked, repining her hair back.

"Neither. I marrying for love." Sakura responded. The turquoise haired women patted her leg under the blankets, and stood, working out some of her joints.

"Good girl. Your mother will be back in the morning. I'll shut out the lights, try and get some rest love." She left then, flipping out the main light leaving a small lamp by her bed on.

"Wait!" The woman paused by the door.

"Take some flowers down to the nurses' desk, they'd like that, and maybe some to the children's ward. I don't need all of these." Sakura smiled, placed the mask back on her face that was on a simple mist now and laid flat. Mita returned with a grey roll cart and loaded the flowers onto it and slipped out, but not without one last smile.

She flipped off the side light, and rolled onto her side, careful not to tangle the oxygen mask. Before her eyes could slip completely close she caught a movement at the window, her eyes flared open, but there was nothing on the sill but a sleek, black, bird.

She fell into unconsciousness.

Unaware of the eyes that were on the other side of the glass.

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Itachi Uchiha was spying, and he knew it was wrong. But as he sat in the tree closest to her hospital window he wondered what was so special about the small, waif of a girl. The first thing he noticed was the thick knitted had that was fitted to her hair, a few hairs peeked out but most of the mane was tucked in.

Her arms were folded under her body, her face resting on her hands, her lips puckered in a soft snore. He crouched a little further and took in the small hospital room and the small human in it.

He wondered briefly, if he should have made his presence known during the conversation with the older nurse, but he'd heard something that froze him in his tracks, something so foolish, so naïve, it caused him to pause.

"_I'm marrying for love"_

What a foolish assumption. Humans, he decided, must be the most stupid creatures of all.

Love, was not the love, that humans wanted it to be. Of course, she would marry for love, but love was the most selfish act of all, more selfish, than marrying for profit, or baring children. Love meant that you'd found someone useful to you, someone who gives you things that you cannot get any where else, and selfishly, you covet them.

When Itachi was first introduced to the fat child that was Sasuke, he didn't love him. He hated him. The child wailed and wailed, he smelled bad, he couldn't communicate and he took up all of his mothers affections. But that soon changed when Sasuke learned to walk, and Itachi would find himself being followed by a small, chubby, speechless human.

At first it was annoying, and then, it was a little bit _sweet._ The boy would follow him around in hopes that Itachi would look after him, and one fateful night, when Sasuke was just months old, the ground shook with fever, as the beast was unleashed in the Hidden village.

As his parents ran out to defend the compound, they left Itachi and a small, round wailing boy. Itachi grabbed his sibling as part of the compound collapsed and ran, covering the small boy with his hands as he tried to protect that human life.

Sometime during that night, Itachi realized that Sasuke could give him something no one had been able to give him before, as they huddled in the forest, Sasuke quiet, contemplating with his big dark eyes, one hand tugging Itachi's hair, one hand in his mouth, he realized that Sasuke gave him peace. From the bloodshed he'd seen, to the constant flood in his head, Sasuke canceled it out, like a magician the baby give him, _peace of mind._ Itachi knew the only thing he would be able to offer Sasuke in this life was protection, and he then decided to love the little bundle.

Itachi watched this person though, this odd, naïve person. He was curious, and curiosity was dangerous when you always got the end satisfaction.

He smirked slightly, a new game.

Boredom took up much of Itachi's life, nothing interested him, and nothing could keep him occupied. Usually Shisui could keep his mind from completely disintegrating, but that was about the end of it. Sasuke had gone from sweet baby, to vengeful, jealous human, in a mere matter of years, and ceased to interest Itachi, unless it was for him to keep up his side of the deal.

But this human, this human, was different. This human had pink hair, and a pet lizard, this human was no shinobi, but was a highly skilled medic masquerading as a nurse. Was a beautiful girl, that covered her face with thick scarves, caps and hoods.

This would be a fun game.

Beyond that obvious positives of marrying the girl, there were a few that he could truly benefit from. While Itachi couldn't bring himself to care about offspring, he knew that she would get Fugaku off his back, and simultaneously bring the older man to heart attack. Since the age of eighteen, he'd been pestered about marriage, his duty to the clan, and so on and so forth, and this little human could satisfy that.

It saved him from having to marry inside the clan, his second cousin twice removed or something equally fabricated.

The next benefit was upping the Hyuuga, while Itachi wasn't as proud to be an Uchiha as he could have been, he was definitely glad he wasn't a Hyuuga.

There was something snake like about that clan, ever since facing off Neji Hyuuga in the Forest of Death, it was like the pale eyed man was a thorn in his side. While Itachi was ultimately more skilled, there was something _annoying_ about the other man.

Probably his unconscious goading to Sasuke. Sasuke was competitive enough, he didn't need the thin Hyuuga egging him on. Sasuke's competitive greed would be his downfall.

And beyond that, she was convenient. She didn't look like much trouble, she was too soft for all of that, her creamy complexion, golden freckled face. She had heavy, soft curves that Kunoichi women didn't have, they were hard angles, rough edges and muscle. She was pliable, smooth, soft. Something he wouldn't mind.

He didn't usually spend much time with civilian women, the women who pleased him, were usually paid to do so, professionals were less likely to _slip up_, no true professional would make him have to explain a bastard to his father.

Movement on the bed caught his attention, the girl struggled out of her blankets, she had a thin sheen of sweat on her skin, she was hot. She twisted out of the quilt, one leg escaped and laid on top of the blankets.

His eyes tracked that bare skin, He noticed that the thin hospital dress left nothing hidden from his invasive gaze.

Her leg was bright in the night. Starting with small, purple painted toes. A slightly chubby foot. A slender ankle, a small knee, a curvy thigh, a round bottom. His eyes followed that curve, his eyes met white underwear that cupped her bottom softly. He relaxed his sharingan, eased back from the window slowly, his training slowly seeping back into his bones, he left the scene silently, going home to slip into his window and catch sleep before leaving on his mission in the morning.

A simple assassination.

For a simple assassin.

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The next time Sakura awoke, her mother was on the couch, her knitting needles between her fingers and a newspaper on her lap.

"Mama?" Sakura called weekly.

Nalla flew from her seat and over to her daughter, she was cooing and smoothing her pink hair back.

"Oh dear, you're awake, Oh honey I've been so worried for you. How do you feel?"

"Perfect. A little weak, but not short of breath anymore." She pulled the mask off her head and laid back again in fear of getting vertigo. Sakura's mother fretted just a bit more before settling in. She sat on the bed across from her daughter, knowing she would have to be the one to break the news, to tell her of her decision.

"What do you remember?" Sakura pulled the cap off her head and finger combed her hair.

"Enough to know what that's about." She gestured with her chin to the pile of gifts sitting inconspicuously in the corner.

"I sent the rejection letters…. Like we talked about." Nalla said, "But I got replies for those. I think… I think you might want to consider, taking an offer." Sakura jumped, stared at her mother appalled.

"Just read the letters Sakura!" Nalla jumped up and paced back in forth.

"It could be a good life for you, one of them could be a good man for you! I'm not saying don't fall in love and get married on your own, I'm saying wait and see if you fall in love with a Hyuuga or a Uchiha or a Inuzuka.." Nalla was staring at her daughter, pleading for her to understand.

"What do you mean… you've always told me.."

"Sakura! I got a happy story! I got a man who loves me with a good job, your father was an amazing doctor! So we've always had a good life, good money, good friends, good family. But you know what happened to Auntie Veva, she married a fish monger, she lived on the salary of a fish monger, she was beat by him! Abused by him! Sometimes …. Your first instinct isn't your best instinct."

Sakura looked down at her lap.

"And those things don't happen in a clan! You're asking me to consider for money! I don't care about money."

"That's because you've always had it!" Nalla rubbed her temples.

"All I'm asking, is that you meet them, and give them a chance, one dinner, one lunch, one cup of tea at the house, and if it rubs you the wrong way, drop it, but you never know. You could meet prince charming."

Sakura didn't voice out loud that she highly doubted that prince charming was a kekkei genkai waving, blood savoring, dirty, shinobi.

She thought her mother's words over. And then felt a little bad for her quick judgment, for all she knew, those men were decent human beings, the sons' didn't want to marry, they didn't want it just as she didn't want it, it was all in the family, so she guessed that she could clean the slate.

Maybe there was a prince charming.

She just had to kiss a few shinobi frogs first.

**Questions:**

Alright, for clarification purposes, Naruto's story is all the same. Nothing has changed in his character. Sakura isn't just a civilian, she's a medic, and has the ability to be a kunoichi if she wanted to, more on that later.

**Here's my question for you:**

**Did we want to include a Shikamaru in the mix? **

**If you can think of any other man you'd like to add to the competition let me know.**


	3. Chapter 3: Green Light

**Howdy! **

**So here the answers to your questions: **

**How Old is Sakura: **

Sakura is twenty years old.

**Why was Sakura hospitalized? **

Sakura was hospitalized for respiratory infection.

**Who is the heir to the Sarutobi clan?**

I've decided to revive Asuma, but …. I am going to OC a son for the Sarutobi's.. more on that later.

**Beyond that, I am looking for a Beta for this story, so if anyone is interested … shoot me a PM. **

**Enjoy:**

Sakura made a stop to pick up some charts before she started in on her night shift. The moon was high in the sky outside, the wind had picked up, and the street lights were on. It was a classic Konoha night.

She discreetly adjusted her bra straps behind the stacked charts and made her way to the overnights. She dropped in on an older man who was already snoozing with the lights on, she shut them off, tucked him in the blankets and adjusted his pillows so he wouldn't get a cramp. She checked his vital, clucked her tongue at his blood pressure.

No wonder the old man had a heart attack.

As she made her way to her next overnight she bumped into Mai, another nurse being forced into the night shift, cupping her own thermos of tea Sakura took in the dark shadows under the red-heads eyes, pale skin, and the glasses falling off her nose.

"Good luck with the patient in 47, he's a pain in the ass." She said. Sakura giggled, Mai was always in a wonderful mood.

"I'm sure he's great." She tried to liven the older woman, "There are rice balls in the longue, go get some before Jurai gets them." She nudged her.

"Sure, sure, Hey, you've got some flowers downstairs. The girl in pediatrics were all over them." Mai adjusted, bending down and retying her shoes.

"They can have them." Sakura rolled her eyes. "I'll got tuck in 47, give him some sleepy time tea." Sakura winked.

The girl in the hospital thought Sakura was doing some sort of magic with her tea, but it was foolproof. Sleepy time tea would turn any stick-in-the-mud into jello. A careful mixture of Lavender, Peppermint and Chamomile, with a few other herbs, turned the body into a puddle of best-sleep-you've-ever-had.

She went to the longue before checking on 47 and warmed up his tea, reading over his chart.

A Shinobi.

Nara, Shikamaru.

Injured in combat, punctured lung, broken arm, sprained ankle, concussion. There was a scrawled note at the bottom:

'_Huge pain in the ass. Knock him out. Lazy bastard paged me to open the window for him. His bed is right next to it.' _

Sakura put the tea, a rolled up fleece blanket, painkillers and his chart on a tray and walked up to his room. She gave two polite knocks before sliding open the door.

He was lying on the bed, looking out the window, his hair was a wild disarray on the pillow, his face was bandaged, his clothes were folded up on a chair and he was in regulation hospital sweats. He didn't even turn as she set the tray down and unrolled the fleece blanket.

"How's your night Nara-sama?"

He grumbled something so low she couldn't hear it, she tucked the fleece blanket around him. He still didn't move.

"I got you some tea. And some painkillers" She kept the smile on her face, pushing the stray hair out of her face as she checked his blood pressure and temperature.

"Thank god" That was a mumble she could hear.

She looked around his room. There were some folded clothes on a bag, a couple of stacked books, _"Strategic Planning, Group Defense, and Open Plot planning" _and "_The History of Shogi." _

His window was wide open, the cool night air blowing in, she went to shut it, but thought better of it.

"Have you been in much pain, Nara-sama?" He flopped onto his back, disrupting the blankets, she was quick to re-tuck them.

"Splitting headache, when do I get to leave?" She avoided his eyes as she rubbed her hands on his temples.

"As soon as that splitting headache goes away and a mednin can come and finish the healing on you." She said. He flinched as she brought the cup of tea up to his lips, he tilted is head back and took in some of the tea, and swallowed the pain killers. He winced again, his eyes squeezed shut in pain. Her heart tinged watching him flinch around By the way his arms were built, she could see the muscle lining his darkly tanned skin, by the way his shoulders coiled and the way his chakra wound up in his arms like a snake ready to strike she knew him a strong ninja, and to see a strong human in this much pain was heartbreaking.

In the last years of her father's life, he'd been the same way. His previous bulk shrinking down, gaunt, his skin was pale and saggy, when it used to be tan and stretched tight. The lines around his eyes stopping being laugh lines, he stopped looking like her father. His hair thinned and fell out, so did his teeth. At the end of his life he was as vulnerable as a baby, but as loved as a father.

She peeked around to make sure that no one was watching, the only thing she could see out the window were a couple of crows on the branches, so she pushed his shoulders back into the mattress.

He peeked one eye open, but she covered his eyes with her palm. She felt his chakra coil in his body, he tensed up, but she relaxed her body, she felt the pulse of the healing chakra. It collided with his skin first, then his tissues, veins, muscles, his chakra, his blood, his bones.

She first began to repair the damage in his head. She felt around for the concussion, she found the bruise easily, and began to soothe over it. She felt him go lax underneath her, and pressed a little more weight on him.

After that she let the chakra travel through his stream, attatching to the bone in his arm and wrapping around it, mending the break, and then his ankle. She turned her attention to his lungs, which were still torn up, healing slowly. She felt Doctor Marushi's Chakra in his lungs, she overrode that, mending up those few holes left.

She slowly released him. She stepped back, he was still lax on the bed. She picked up the tea again, popped a straw in it and held it up to his lips.

"Drink up now, I don't want you getting dehydrated. This tea will also help you sleep easy." She tried to continue on like nothing happened. He quickly drank down the tea. She turned to leave as he spoke:

"Why are you nurse?"

"That's what I'm qualified to do Nara-sama, I trained in school for this." She gave him a cheeky wink and turned to leave again.

"But you're a healer, that's the strongest healing chakra I've ever felt." He said. "It doesn't make any sense that you're changing bedpans and showering off old people." She tensed under his words.

"I'd really appreciate it if this could stay between us." Her voice was low this time. "I don't want to draw attention to myself." She was gripping the door frame tightly.

"Troublesome. What's the big secret?"

There was a solid crack, she looked at the frame beneath her palm, the door way was cracked, a small sliver was cut from the glass screen.

"Good girls don't kiss and tell"

She gave another cheeky wink, and turned to leave.

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The Uchiha prodigy narrowed his eyes under the image. His crows were not just a mass of sound and presence, they were good messengers too.

He could keep one eye on Sasuke, one eye on the Clan and one eye on his newest _fascination._

He had to admit he was quite intrigued now.

He watched the clan meet as he was away, as Fugaku was prone to do when he had to tell the elders something he didn't want Itachi to hear, but Itachi could _always_ hear. There wasn't a spot on the planet his father could go that Itachi wouldn't be able to see. They talked about Sasuke, someone they knew was a sensitive topic to Itachi, he didn't like the way the stirred Sasuke on, how they approved on the look his little brother got in his eye when he felt inferior. That look that could kill.

Sasuke would never be enough for the clan.

He was brought back to the presence briefly as he walked across the side of the building the Daimyo was in, and slipped silently into the window. Facing the two guards. They broke forward, drawing swards, but Itachi was quicker, snapping both of their necks in a matter of seconds.

It was like a dance. Two steps forward, one step back. Three step sidewise, two steps back.

Things like these bored him, the guards, the door, the woman that was in there with the Daimyo that, no doubt, he would have to kill as well. Something about younger women spurred those older men on.

His mind wandered, He played the image over of the civilian, or so he thought, pouncing on the young Nara, covering his face with her hand and glowing the most eerie shade of green.

He touched his hand to the door the Daimyo was behind, and melted the lock off. So simple. So easy.

He wondered why she hid that absolutely, lovely talent of hers. And what exactly the _big secret_ was. She was such an easy target.

He speared the woman who was draped across the bed in the throat. Her blood made a high arch off the body splashing his mask. But it was a silent death, as he severed her vocal chords. He could hear the Daimyo in the bath.

He was trying to play his pieces close. He had to be strategic, he briefly regretted not putting a bird on the Hyuuga, but he doubted that the man would make a move. The rush of competition was running through his veins now,_ and Itachi Uchiha didn't lose._

He had been bored so long, his little brother was a like a fish in a fish bowl, entertaining for only so long.

He pushed the door open to the bath, the wide man turned and stared at Itachi who merely tilted his head and blinked at the man. The man came flying out of the tub, splashing water everywhere and tumbling ungracefully onto the floor of the bathing room. He curled himself into a ball.

"I'll tell you anything you want to know.." He was rambling now, and Itachi didn't care.

"I'll tell you anything, you can have all the money you want, you can have the girl, she was just a whore.." Itachi silenced him by placing a gloved finger up to his masked lips. He had his head cocked to the side observing the naked man's trembling form, he snarled in disgust.

He observed the terror in the man's eyes.

He wondered what was so terrifying about a weasel mask.

And then wondered if it was just the blood on his armor.

"What did you have shipped to Sound?" His voice was even, cold.

His mind was elsewhere.

He wondered why she had to cover the Nara's body with her own.

And why it bothered him so much.

Curious.

He wondered if she was running from something, or if she was simply telling the truth, trying to blend in with the natural crowed. He could understand that, he reasoned, slipping into the movement of everyday life when there were people like him, people who naturally didn't fit. Whose aura filled the space of the room with dread, and death.

"They were vials." The man was sweating under his freshly clean skin.

"What was in the vials?"

Itachi was many things, patient, was not one of them. He decided to go ahead and slay the man and head back to the village. He didn't want to give the woman any more time to lay on any other men. He made a conscious effort not to think _his woman, _instead of the woman. He would be next, he decided. He caught the reflection of the mask in his sword, and smirked a bit.

The man's screams followed him all the way back to Konoha.

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The sun wasn't up yet as Sakura made her way from the hospital. After dropping in a few more times on Nara and the rest of her row, she wrapped herself up for the cool morning weather, a scarf wrapped around her hair, a sweater covering the short sleeves of her nurse uniform.

She was untucking her hair from the collar, and turning the first corner from the hospital when she froze on the sidewalk.

There was a man in front of her.

She took in his attire. Black pants, tucked into black boots. A gray vest over a black short sleeve turtle neck. She took in the swinging brunette hair, and opalescent eyes that appeared to be burning right through her skin.

"May I walk you home?"

**Hola, Hola, **

**This chapter was longer but I've split it up in two parts as I didn't want to have to many point-of-view skips in one chapter because I know that can get annoying. **

**I am looking for a ****beta reader. **

**If you're interested, let me know!**

**I do not own Naruto. **


	4. Chapter 4: Under the Moonlight

Under the Moonlight

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Neji Hyuuga was many things, complacent, intelligent, merciful, but patient was not one of them. And over the past couple of weeks, he'd been losing his patience with the little civilian girl that had taken the Hyuuga compound by storm, without even stepping foot in.

His uncle had called him in for a meeting, they talked over a cup of tea and a game of Shogi.

"It's your responsibility to the Hyuuga clan, and to yourself, that you pass on your power. As one of the strongest clan members we have ever seen it would be irresponsible of us to simply allow that power to slip through our fingers. As a newly made first branch member, it's also your responsibility to ensure your spot on that branch, you must prove to the other clan members that they made a good decision. Prove your worth as a Hyuuga."

He nodded along with his uncle. It was easier to play the game than to make an excuse as to why you cannot. Smarter to plot in silence.

"She's a civilian. Lives with her mother, and the only girl in their bunch."

Neji could actually hear a little bitterness from that one. It was no secret that Hiashi wanted boys, and got himself a pink bow-tied package instead.

"Small family from the mountains. She's a nurse at the hospital, her mother is close to the Hokage, her family has proven to have the unique ability to produce strong heirs. A chakra enhanced womb that protects and stores the Chakra of the mate. I've sent a letter formally asking for permission for courtship."

That was days ago.

He'd been silently observing the woman from her hospital window. He'd peaked a bit into her daily life.

Then he'd been called away on a mission to Sound, and there wasn't a way he could watch her from there. But her visage seemingly followed him to sound. The image of her limp form on the mattress, her shallow breathing, the mask making her face look small. He couldn't help but let his eyes wander when she was limp. The thick blanket and gown not hiding anything from view. He could see the indentation of her pelvis, the perk of her nipples, the curve of her collar bone.

And he had to admit, he was impressed. He thought she would have been a little frumpy, a little shallow, a little more human than she appeared.

That was the thing about those Kunoichi's about women like Ino Yamanaka, Ten Ten and even Hinata: as fragile and weak as she was; they were otherworldly. They were hard lines, tanned bodies, but good people. However, there was something attractive and a little unattractive about dating a woman that could snap you in half.

And for a long time, Neji imagined taking himself there: Finding a strong Kunoichi. But maybe, he thought, that wasn't the answer. As he thought back in time, being a Kunoichi didn't ensure the best life. Even Mikoto Uchiha was just a civilian at one point, so was his mother, maybe being a Kunoichi had nothing to do with strength or maybe it did.

He was still a bit hesitant about courting a civilian girl as he didn't know what they were like. He knew what Kunoichi's were like, he could assure himself a little distance, a little attitude, a little hardness, a little weakness, but with a civilian woman, well … they seem so fragile.

He'd seen them moseying around, doing their everyday work just like Kunoichi's do, just a bit slower. They savored the moment a bit more he figured.

But the days he'd spent observing the pink haired girl the more attracted he grew. He grew conscious to the fact that she was much smaller than him, she didn't have callouses on her hands, or great muscles in her would need his help.

And there was something alluring about being needed.

When he returned from his ANBU mission he fully intended to go and check in at the hospital, but with his mask strapped to his thigh he caught her leaving the building. She had a layered scarf wrapped around her head, hiding most of her pink locks, a sweater over her white nurses uniform that bore a few stains from her shift no doubt. He waited for her to discover him rather than him startle her in the dark.

He knew the moment she felt his presence as she tensed beneath her clothing and looked up at him. He felt the tightening under his skin as he looked for the first time into those green eyes that once looked Hunter green but now bore something like a mix of Lamb's Ear and Green Apple.

"May I walk you home?"

They walked silently side by side her hand tucked into the crook of his arm; it was awkward. The people that were up early enough to see them were gawking in the streets, and Sakura wanted the ground to open up and swallow her.

But she walked next to the silent Hyuuga.

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She went to speak, determined, to break the silence.

"Did you – uh, - um, just get back from some sort of mission?"

"Yes. In Sound." Was all he said. She imagined he was probably not able to tell her much more. She lifted her free hand to rub at her tired night shift was a rough one, but with two days off after that, and a bit of overtime under her belt, it was almost worth it.

"The night shift… do you like it?" He asked suddenly. She flinched a bit.

"It's alright. Much more boring than a day shift, that's for sure. Just some patients to check in on, bed pans to change.." She realized that she was rambling and glanced down at her feet to watch her steps and avoid looking anywhere near the silent man next to her.

They came to a sudden stop. She jerked forward and looked up confused as to why they were stopped.

"You shouldn't watch your feet as you go. You're more likely to be injured that way," he said. She took in the seriousness of his face, the doleful eyes, the long fingered hand that was slowly making its way to the hand she had tucked in the crook of his arm. He stroked her fingers slowly, taking in their small qualities, neatly trimmed nails, painted a light seafoam.

"I'm less likely to fall down that way." She correct but her eyes didn't leave his hands that were stroking hers.

"You will not fall if you have a good leader."

"I don't always have a leader."

"You should be your own leader."

She was silent at that and they walked along again, this time, her eyes straight forward.

"It's been brought to my attention you declined the courting invoice." She stumbled at that not expecting him to so blatantly bring it up. She searched for words to say, but he beat her to the punch.

"I have reviewed the reasons you might say no, and I have to assure you of a few things before you so easily drop the issue. The Hyuuga clan would take very good care of you. You would never want for anything in their ranks. You would never be in danger. Beyond that, I am not asking for your hand in marriage at this moment. I'm asking you to consider allowing me to get to know you as a friend would or potential lover." She shivered at the way he said lover. There was something about the way it twisted off his tongue.

"I assure you that I will not allow anything to happen to you under my care, and that you'll always have a good leader." She went to look up at him, but noticed that she was in front of her forest green front door as he stood behind her.

"Get some sleep, Haruno-sama, until next time." He said. She blindly pushed into her house, closing the door soundly, and dropping all of her things on the ground. Her mother was pushing around breakfast in the kitchen when she flew around the corner to speak with her.

An egg flew out of her hand and landed on the linoleum. Her mother was in her white fluffy robe, bunny slippers, and had her sleep cover over her head.

"Mother," she gasped out. Nalla pushed forward and pulled Sakura into a chair at the breakfast nook and waited for her to finish. "Neji Hyuuga accosted me outside of work. He brought up the Hyuuga proposal and asked me to consider some things. I thought you said they wouldn't directly approach me?"

"The Hyuuga's appear much more brave than I first thought."

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Neji perched on top of the Haruno's roof. He found what he'd been sensing since he got back into Konoha. The bird. The black bird looked inconspicuous, beady eyed, but watched him intently. He smirked at the little bird, 'well played Uchiha-san.'

The birds head was separated from its body within the next second.

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Shikamaru leaned back into his hospital bed that morning feeling miraculously better than he did yesterday. And he knew exactly why.

His brow furrowed; he didn't know what to do about that.

In all honestly, he'd heard about the Haruno girl. His father had approached him with the information, just in case he wanted to know, and told him it would be nice if he did something like that; however, there was no pressure and truly, Shikamaru knew, there was no pressure. His parents could actually care less who he married, but there was a puzzle there that Shikamaru wouldn't leave unsolved for an unknown reason.

He knew for a fact that the Uchihas and the Hyuugas were diving headfirst into her business. If he followed this little trail he would ,no doubt, run into them, and probably get into a scuffle or two. However, Shikamaru wasn't too worried about that. Whether the other two men knew it or not: the three of them were more alike than they'd care to admit. All of them were geniuses in their own right, and they all suffered from the same sickness.

Boredom.

There was almost nothing worse than being a smart bored person. Nothing entertained you anymore, and nothing kept you satisfied long enough for you to really enjoy it.

Shikamaru wondered how long it would take for the other men to realize that she had a little secret, and he knew that would be his one up.

No doubt Hyuuga would use his clan for backup: the extravagance, the gates, all of it. Hyuuga would be shameless in his pursuit. He wouldn't put it passed him to approach her directly. The Uchiha would be a bit more to predict, but he was sleuthy. Shikamaru had only gone on one mission with the man, and he had moved like smoke. Itachi would more than likely work in the shadows, so that he wouldn't have to directly interact with her until absolutely necessary.

But Shikamaru had his one up. His calling card could easily be curiosity. The others would seem … wrong. She'd want to marry for love, she wouldn't want to be convinced, and with Shikamaru there'd be no convincing.

The slap on his arm brought him back.

Ino Yamanaka was standing in front of his bed with Chouji nearby in the chair eating his jello.

It would be better if his team, especially Ino, didn't know about this.

"Are you listening to me?" She demanded. "I swear every time I talk you just tune me out,like I don't even matter. How do you think that makes me feel huh?..."

And there she went. Ino was probably the noisiest woman he knew, and she would be shameless in her pursuit of information if the word ever got to her.

"You seem a lot better than you were yesterday?..."

She was too easy to tune out now. He wondered how his parents would react if they found out he was actively pursuing something that wasn't hiding from Ino and taking a nap at the same time. He also wondered how long he could hide it from the two bloodhounds on the nurses rear. If the prodigys got word of his plans their intervention would be too swift for him to stop. He decided to watch the situation carefully, just in case.

He turned his head to face out the window, and saw something he wasn't supposed to see. A crow sitting on the tree branch outside of his window. This would be less conspicuous if the crow didn't have red eyes.

He wondered just how much that crow saw.

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Itachi knew the precise moment that Hyuuga had killed the bird, he also knew the moment that she left for work her next shift would be night shift, so he slowed down. He knew that if appeared in town too fast his injuries would be less believable. They needed a bit of time to heal before approaching the village.

Itachi did feel a bit frustrated and that was new.

He had planned for everything, anything the Hyuuga was going to use, he had a plan for it. The only thing he didn't plan for was the Hyuuga directly approaching her. Itachi didn't know he had it in him. He knew the Hyuuga to be like him, to play from the shadows as much as possible, but the Hyuuga appeared to be more clever than he'd first anticipated, he put her in a corner.

He'd planned to stay behind for as long as possible, but this changed the game a bit.

He was going to have to up the stakes.

**Well, **

**Here we go. Introductions are over. Let me know what you think by clicking that special button. **

**Thank you! To my fabulous new beta! What a lovely human. **

**I do not own Naruto. **


	5. Chapter 5: Market District

Sasuke may not have been a genius like Itachi, he may not have been recruited for ANBU the moment he came out of the womb, but he was smart enough to know when something was going on with his slick older brother.

If he knew anyone in the world, it would be a tie between the dobe and his brother. The dobe, who was lying in the grass next to him slurping instant ramen like he was starved, noodles and juices flying out of his mouth and hitting Sasuke's bare back, was a simple person for anyone to understand. He just wanted to things to be okay, it didn't matter if he was alright or not. As long as everyone else was fine, than the dobe was fine.

His brother on the other hand took a little more brains to figure out.

Itachi was slick. He always had been. He was just like the rodent on his ANBU mask, and he literally could get anything. Whether that be clearance to spy on Sasuke's missions, overruling his father's votes in the clan, or to sway the Hokage which ever direction he felt was best. Itachi always got what he wanted.

"Dobe" – he went to speak to the blond. He was taking a risk bringing it up to the blond, who was much more brash than he was, but the only person whose thought pattern was remotely similar to his was the blond Shinobi.

"Something's wrong with Itachi."

The words were softer spoken.

"I know what's wrong with him he's a frickin' loon.." The blond drew.

"Beyond his usual insanity, he appears to be more … gone lately." Sasuke pondered his own words. His brother seemed almost absentminded at breakfast. Which didn't seem like him at all. When their mother, concerned, asked if he checked into the hospital Itachi had responded with a clear no, and when their father asked if he was alright he turned his cold eyes onto him and said simply, "headache". His mother had ushered him out of the house and to the doctor's office.

"I think he's plotting something. His crows have been gone from the compound for days. Obviously he's looking for something."

Naruto took in the gleam in Sasuke's eyes.

"We should find out what it is."

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The part that Sakura loved the most about Konoha was the market up in the mountains left her with little experience with big flavor and lots of choices.

In the mountains, they sent weeks in advance for food. They would walk down a trail to meet the man with the cart at the end of the road, exchange money, and her brothers would pack all the food up on their backs in backpacks and hike it all the way back up. They mostly lived on canned food, potatoes, and thick red meat. There were no ramen stands, no people bargaining for food on the streets, and no tempura restaurants or long sushi bars.

So when they first moved to the sunny city, their biggest shock was the food. All the flavors, textures,and different ways to prepare anything and everything. Sakura quickly volunteered to do all the grocery shopping just so she could experience the excitement and loud, carefree aura of the market sellers would yell out prices and food, but that wasn't all there was.

There were wax makers, bead sellers, lamp shade sellers, rug sellers, knitted blankets. Under the sunny sky, the umbrellas covering the carts kept her mostly cool as she took in the atmosphere.

She tightened her hand on her basket and checked her satchel for money before entering the fray. She crept up to a fruit stand and observed. There were many things here she'd not had before. She recognized some of them. Big green apples, wobbly, rounded pears, bright yellow lemons, neon green limes, but there was a fuzzy brown thing that was in her sights. She picked it up. She felt its squishy texture and then she sniffed it a bit...

"It's a kiwi fruit." She spun at the low voice that was coming from her right side. She noticed the dark brown hair, the stubble that wasn't there before, the black pants, and forest green vest.

"Nara-sama you were released early?" She was still observing the fruit.

"I'm all healed, remember?" His voice was a smooth drawl.

"That fast? It's a miracle."

She stuck the fruit into her basket and moved to the flower stand that was next door. A set of beautiful, white lupins were on display and she mulled it over. Something so frivolous like lupins. She reached from them when he appeared beside her again.

"You know, you're a hard girl to track down, it was pretty troublesome." She spun on him purposefully smacking him in the chest with the stems of her lupins.

"Why are you tracking me down then Nara-sama?" She asked. She peered into his eyes as fearlessly as she could.

"I have a couple of questions, actually, I have ideas and I just need you to agree or disagree. Ya know, tell me if I'm right or wrong." She glared at him from over her flowers and put those in her basket too looking around for the waxmaker.

"And If I don't want to?"

"Then hold still and listen to what I have to tell you." He all but growled in her ear.

"No time to slow down. Night shift tonight you know." She found the waxmaker beside a glass blower.

"Night shift again? Who did you piss off?" His voice was lax, his body language relaxed, but he seemed also to be on high alert. She noticed his eyes shifting back in forth beneath his low lids, and she could see the way his shoulders were coiled.

"The night shift is pretty lofty, I'll have you know." She set her basket down to scent candles. She liked the soft ones but her mother like bold scents. Meeting that in the middle would be hard.

When she bent to drop the glass jars into her basket it was off the ground and in the man's arms.

"You shouldn't leave your basket on the floor someone could steal it." He informed her frankly.

"As sad as that would be, there's no money in there. I'd just have to rebuy my groceries,and I highly doubt anyone wants my groceries."

"What if someone comes to the market and wants exactly what you want. They look down and it's open season."

She glared at him for that one.

Outlandish.

"I think you're hiding a little bit more than your magical fingers." He said from beside her in a low voice. "I think you've got skeletons so deep in your closet they're wearing your winter coats. I know you're from the mountains. You're too pale to be from here. I also know that you've got some great chakra storage happening in your lower abdomen. I know Tsunade personally gave you your job, and I know you're being followed." She stopped then.

"I'm being followed." Equally low

"The crows."

She looked up then. High in the sky on the top of the abandoned apartment buildings that lined the market district were rows and rows of crows. Black, squawking, beady eyed crows.

"Whose are they?"

"Uchiha have been known for their bird wielding skills. I'm guessing it's one of them. I think that big one, with the obvious red eyes, is probably the messenger crows . The rest of them work like cameras recording information." He was picking at her kiwifruit then.

"How do you know they're following me?" Her voice was a lot stronger than she thought it would be.

"Walk to the stand over there, with the green vegetables, watch how their eyes follow you." She did as he asked and the birds heads ticked slowly to the side like they weren't even real.

"How do we know they aren't following you?" She was husky at that point.

"They have no reason to follow me."

"And they have reason to follow me?"

"You and I both know why they would follow you."

She was silent at that. She'd met only one of her suitors and this fellow. She didn't quite know what he wanted yet. The other was nowhere to be found, but now she knew at least that if she looked up in the sky he was watching.

She didn't know how she felt about this invasion of privacy.

"I've heard he was a great ninja. He must not be that good if I can spot his spies." She thought out loud.

"Don't bait him. He's only doing it because I'm here. He's sending a message."

She didn't understand that one, and was going to ask him to elaborate when she turned and he was gone. Her basket was in the dirt and a leaf was in his place.

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The night shift came again. This time she was more prepared. A Thermos of tea, mixed with chamomile to steady the nerves left behind from her early morning encounter, her white nurses uniform was thoroughly washed buttoned tall, and under it she sported a black long sleeve shirt to keep her warm.

She found herself paranoid for the rest of her day peering out the windows over her head, and she basically ran home from the market. She refrained from telling her mother knowing that if she told her mum about the stalker crows she would lose her mind. So she kept that fact to herself took a long nap in her bed with the blinds closed, the curtains drawn, and all the doors locked.

She bumbled through mostly unseen, checking in on her heart attack patient, and joking lightly with the nurses, but she avoided the front desk as the bunch of gossips hadn't left her alone since the flower fiasco. She'd given most of them away, but kept a few of the potted ones to see if she could fit them in her garden.

As she made her way to the lounge looking over a chart absentmindedly,Yuri, a redheaded young nurse, came flying around the corner nearly knocking her to the ground. She was quick to bow and say her niceties.

"I've been looking for you everywhere Haruno-san! I need your help." Sakura took a deeper look at her appearance, the redhead was flushed, sweating, and panting. She took in her expression and drew her brows together at the girls eyes. They seemed darker than normal almost black instead of her usual brown.

As a nurse, one of your duties was to stay calm and collected in front of patients. Clearly, Yuri needed a little more help in that department and maybe a little more sleep.

"Of course Yuri-kun, what do you need?" Sakura slapped her clipboard against her chest and focused on the younger nurse.

"My patient won't allow me to examine him. He was brought into emergency over an hour ago, we placed him, but he won't let me check his face, eyes, or even touch him. You're the best with patients. I need you." The words seemed a little off. Sakura looked concerned at her fellow nurse.

"Are you alright Yuri?" She was asked slowly reaching for the small light in her breast pocket.

"Yes I'm fine! I just need your help" She nodded her head enthusiastically.

Sakura was shaking her head, "Yuri." She scolded gently, "I know that you're new and you're fresh out of training, but sometimes you've just got to stop trying to kill them kindness and tell them how it really is. If he wanted to come to emergency, he should've known that he would have to be physically examined. I'll go with you and talk to him, but I'm telling you right now. You've got to be more stern." Sakura took the chart from the woman that were completely unfilled due to the lack of proper examination.

She grasped the girls shoulder and brought her into a quick hug before gesturing for her to lead the way with a swipe of her arm.

They took the long hall down to the emergency rooms and Sakura smiled at Yuri before pushing the door open and froze a bit.

The room temperature was almost colder than normal. The body lying on the bed was almost limp except the slight coil of the shoulders which she was beginning to associate with Shinobi. Under the blanket in the room, his hands were folded slightly under the covers, his eyes were closed, and his hair was loose around his shoulders. She checked Yuri's chart.

"_Uchiha-san."_

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And then froze again.

* * *

**Ahoy There!**

**Thanks for all the lovely reviews for the last chapter I loved each and everyone one of them. I love that a lot of you put some thought into them, told me the things that were seriously on your mind, or what you were seriously curious about.**

**And thank you to the lovely beta who edited this so It wouldn't read like a fifth grader wrote it. You're amazing. **

**I do not own Naruto. **

_**By the way: What's your favorite smell? **_


	6. Chapter 6: The Fisherman

**Chapter Six: The Fisherman **

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Sakura took a hesitant step to her dark patient.

She observed him silently over her chart, his bangs were dripping down his face, and dark hair spilling down his back.

His hands were folded docile in his lap.

But she knew he was anything but docile.

She turned to speak to Yuri only to find the nurse gone, and the door shut. She felt shivers race down her spine. She knew about the Uchiha eyes, how they could get people to do whatever they wanted, _he must have done something to Yuri._

She set the chart down gently, and faced him, hands on her hips.

"Were you injured on your mission?" She asked, she watched him unlock himself and begin to pull his top off.

"Please lay on your back." She instructed him softly. He lowered himself without a sound to the paper covered mattress and kept his eyes closed still.

She sanitized her hands once and slid on her gloves, moving to examine the wound. As she bent over his torso examining the jagged edge of what was no doubt some sort of kunai injury, she wondered if she should say something to him. Like that she knew about his stalking tendencies and didn't appreciate them.

She tried to find the words, instead she went for simply chastisement.

"You know, Yuri-san is a good nurse, and shes new, and you not cooperating with her is going to shunt her confidence. And by the way, I'm not stupid, I know you did something to her, you cant just invade people's minds. We have a hard enough job already we don't need people like you-"

His soft voice interrupted her, her fingers paused their cleaning as his voice lilted through the room and almost wilted the window sill flowers in its deep resonance.

"Do you know what the hardest profession is?"

She could find she could only shake her head in the negative as he slowly peeled open his eyes. The depths were not black like she was expecting them to be, more grey, light passed over them and she realized there was no debth in them, they were flat, emotionless.

"It is not being a Shinobi, or a teacher, or a nurse, or even the Hokage. The hardest profession is the be a successful fisherman."

She resumed cleaning and listened, knowing this would probably be the only chance she had.

"In order to catch a fish, you have to understand the fish." She was eyeing his skeptically, but he just kept on.

"There is nothing harder in this world than understanding a creature so different from you. You must understand what it's like living the life of a fish. To be a master fisherman you must be able to catch a smart fish. A fish that's never been caught before."

She interrupted him, "we aren't talking about fish, are we?"

He was relentless.

"The fisherman of course has to be patient, empathetic to the fishes needs, have the proper bait and be attentive to the fish. For example, if there are two men fishing in the same pond, the master fisherman will know to sit exactly opposite of the opposer. So when the opposer drops his hook in to the water, the smart fish swim the opposite direction."

"Fishing… really.."

"So you'll have to have your hook in the water already. You'll have to be quiet observer of course."

She finished cleaning the wound.

"Just out of morbid curiosity, what do you do when catch the fish?"

His lips moved into something wicked then, twisting up his face, no teeth exposed.

"You keep it."

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Shikamaru had kind of been waiting for this moment. He knew the other suitors would know he was in the race soon, but as fast as the Hyuuga figured it out, well, that was surprising. He was lounging the grass, his arms fanned out under his head, his hair loose, the breeze blowing the long grass gently, a perfect afternoon.

The Nara appeared silently, his Chakra signature was the only brief indicator that he was there. Shikamaru was going to ignore him until he spoke.

"What's your interest?" The words were low, but inquisitive all the same.

Shikamaru's lips quirked a bit,

"The clouds."

There was a pause.

And then a low chuckle.

"Very funny. Don't make me assume the town genius to be a bit dull." Shikamaru smirked at that last one.

"What's your interest in the girl?"

"If by 'the girl' you mean Sakura Haruno well, I just want to be friends." His tone was a bit patronizing.

"Friends." The words were basically spat out.

"Yeah, I know that's a foreign concept for you but that's what I'm after"

_For Now. _

"And I'm supposed to believe that."

"Seeing as how that's the only answer you'll get, You're just going to have to. Aren't you."

Neji sneered at him, marring his perfect face with fury.

"You're a leg behind in this race Shikamaru." He warned.

"Am I? I think I'm the only one she's a decent conversation with. Who's not stalking her." His eye's rose to meet the opalescent one's of the Hyuuga. They stared at each other unblinking for a few moments in complete silence.

Neji broke out into a smirk, "May the best man win."

Shikamaru turned back to the clouds and Neji vanished in a cloud of white feathers.

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Itachi stared blankly at the pond and listened to his friend jabber, he came to the conclusion that Shisui probably had attachment issues.

Probably.

"I mean are you honestly going along with this? You've bypassed all of the other's for a civilian. Where's the catch? I haven't seen her, she's got to be gorgeous. What does she look like?"

"It's not about that."

"Then what is it? All of the sudden you're ready to listen to your father?" Shisui was raging. Tossing chakra infused rocks across the pond, causing bomb like explosions in the water, fish flying the air.

"It's nothing."

Itachi was getting tired of pacifying his friend. Shisui wasn't just his cousin (everyone in the compound was basically his cousin) He was probably his only friend. Itachi had associates, people who were able to hold up their end of any deal, Shisui was someone he would actively seek out and didn't have just one purpose. And he almost never held up his end of the deal.

Shisui slumped down on the ground next to him, eyeing his hawks who flying circles over the compound.

"It's something."

"She's fascinating."

"She's fascinating now, what if … later down the line… she's not so fascinating anymore?" He asked hesitantly. And then a light bulb went off, "You don't want children… do you?"

Itachi was silent.

It wasn't anything he'd ever thought about before, children from him would be a dangerous situation. For anyone.

But this wasn't about that.

"Shisui.." He started.

"No .. No.. I'm your best friend. Hell, I'm your only friend. I want in on this. The Hyuuga kid has lost his damn mind if he thinks he has a leg up in this."

He almost does.

But Itachi wasn't about to admit that out loud.

"I have to do this." Was all he could manage. He didn't really think there was another way he could explain his fascination with the girl to his friend.

But Shisui seemed to understand, with a nod of his head he accepted that as truth and moved on.

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Sasuke sighed irritably as he waited for the dobe, who left his house after saying, "meet me at the hospital In two hours. I have a plan!"

That was three hours ago. Sasuke huffed and prepared to go home when the dobe slammed into him from behind.

"Where have you been?" They hissed at each other at the same time.

"I've been waiting here for you!" Sasuke pushed his friend in the shoulder. "I've been here! You didn't think to look for my Chakra signature?" Naruto hissed back.

"No! you moron." He hissed, but was internally embarrassed that he didn't think to do that.

"You need to come with me. I found the girl. I got her to a space where we can talk." He said.

Sasuke paused, he didn't want to so much talk to the girl as spy on her, but he figured he owed her some kind of warning, a warning that his brother was a psychopath. And that she should run far, far away. Because Itachi had already become obsessed.

They took a few turns down the hallway and then paused in front of the women's restroom. It was the one-room usually used only by nurses. He pushed Sasuke in, who protested, "Hey! This is the women's rest room"

The blond shoved him into the room. He stopped abruptly and looked where a pink haired girl was duct taped to the sink.

He turned and looked at his friend.

And back at the girl.

"Fuck."

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**I do not own Naruto. **

**Sorry for the wait, we've had a new addition to our family and it's been hard adjusting to him. So thank you for your patience, chapters at regular intervals again! **


	7. Chapter 7: Expletive

**Chapter Seven: Expletive. **

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"What have you done?" Sasuke shoved Naruto into a bathroom stall and glared viciously at his friend.

"What the _fuck_ have you done?"

"You wanted to talk to her!"

Sasuke pushed Naruto again.

"He's going to kill you. He's going to kill us! What the fuck is wrong with you?" He was whisper shouting. Naruto pushed Sasuke out of the stall, Sasuke kept whipping his head at the struggling duct taped woman.

"You always do this." He began to rant. "You do stupid shit and then I get dragged into it. And who takes the fall? Me! Who gets beat up at the end of the day? Me! Thanks so very much for this Naruto. He's going to decapitate us. He's going to chop our heads of and Shisui is going to hang them in the tree's as Christmas decorations. What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?" The pinkette was whipping her head between them watching the conversation take place like a tennis match.

"Sasuke-" Naruto tried to cut in.

"I knew this was going to happen! I knew I shouldn't have trusted you. You know what my father is going to do to me? What my _mother_ is going to do to me? Goddamn it Naruto!" He was hissing like a snake.

"Sasuke … man.." But Sasuke wasn't hearing it.

"You remember the bridge and the monuments, I took the fall for that! the donkey thing? I took the fall for all of that! Stupid fucking.."

The pink haired woman rose a brow at "donkey thing.."

The two males turned and simultaneously shouted, "Don't ask!"

She shrugged.

"I thought I was helping you! I got her to a quite space!"

Sasuke pushed Naruto into a stall door and began to pace. The door creaked open a woman in a nurses uniform rolling her lipstick out began to step in.

"Get out!" Another Simultaneous shout.

"Lets just … untie her, apologize, and explain why we did this. Maybe once we explain that we were trying to help her she'll calm right down and we can get this all figured out and keep it quiet." Naruto said.

Sasuke nodded and they moved to untie her. Sasuke working on her hands and Naruto slowly removing the tape from her mouth.

"Listen… let me expla-" He heard the sound before he felt the pain. _"Pang!"_ He fell backwards, landing on his ass. She was swinging around the pipe from under the sink. Water was flooding the floor as she swung the pipe around.

She clocked Naruto in the stomach and then in the groin and Sasuke watched in horror as his partner in crime went down. Rolling into the fetal position as she whacked on him.

"Hey!" he shouted.

The ferocious pinkette turned to him then, he got a whack in the shin and in the rib. Naruto rushed her and locked his arms around her, and swung her around. Her pipe hit the ground, but Naruto's feet began to slide around and they both crashed to the bathroom floor.

Sasuke slipped around trying to help his friend. The girl was fighting and clawing Sasuke hopping on top of them and restrained her, she knocked her forehead against his nose. He felt it burst like a water balloon. Blood joined the water on the floor.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!"

The blonde's loud shouting froze them all. All on their knees in the water. The blonde flopped onto his back, releasing the pinkette, who then released the Uchiha. They lay panting on their backs for a few solid moments, the water slowed to a drip from the wrenched pipe, which lay on the ground, bent.

"Let just …." The blonde stopped to pant. "go get some ramen."

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Naruto, holding a icepack to his stomach chortled happily. "You're tougher than I thought." Sasuke turned his eyes to Sakura, who was happily slurping her ramen. Not a bruise in sight. While Sasuke was nursing a blue nose and a black eye.

"You kidnapped me. I wasn't going down without a fight." She said. Sasuke poked at his egg until it burst open and then stirred the yolk into his noodles.

"The intent wasn't to kidnap you by the way." He assured her. She nodded. While Ayame was fixing their ice packs Naruto gently explained to her the situation and his … mistake.

Sasuke paid for the ramen and they dug in. The silence of the night was glaring, the only shop in miles open was Ichiraku. It was five in the morning, and the sky was just beginning to lighten up to hints of the sun.

"So what was so important that you would kidnap a nurse, take a beating from a pipe and still buy her dinner afterwards?" She asked after a healthy bite. The salt was almost a new taste on her tongue as she hadn't had copious amounts like this for a long time of it.

"It actually came from good intentions" Was Sasuke's response. Naruto was slurping away, but looking intently at both of them. Sakura in the middle of the two brooding figures.

"Explain." Were her only words.

"My brother … You may know him … or of him." Sasuke edged his way into the conversation. "Itachi is … my older brother, he's also your suitor. I've come to do you a favor," He watched her brow fall and could only assume that she assumed that he was here to boast his brother's favor.

"Pick the Nara." Was the last thing that she expected him to say. Her eyes grew comically wide as she coughed slightly on a bite.

"Pardon me?" She wiped frantically at her mouth with a napkin.

"Pick the Nara. You don't want to get involved in the clans. Its messy, it's dangerous, and for lack of a better term, my brother is a psychopath." He didn't look at all pained to get the words out, if anything, he looked more relaxed than before.

"Don't get me wrong. He's powerful, he could protect you from anything that came charging at you, but he's dangerous. Uncontrollable, he can play the political game better than anyone …. Probably in the whole world. When he wants something, he usually gets it." Sakura stared wide eyed at him.

"Uncontrollable? Doubt it." She snorted, his attention snapped to her. He rose a brow.

"Your clan is what wants this," she gestured absently at her midsection. "I highly doubt your brother ever imagined marrying a civilian. This is something your father drew up."

Naruto was the one to snort this time. "Itachi imagining getting married? Hysterical." Sasuke reached behind Sakura and slapped him lightly in the back of the head.

"Even if my father put his foot down, Itachi would never go through with it if it wasn't something he wanted. He's got a good way at evading doing anything the clan actually needs him to do." Sasuke said, "Furthermore, there are hundreds of women lining up to marry him, since the day he was born families have been breeding their daughters to marry that bastard, but he chose you."

The booth was incased in silence for a long while before Naruto spoke again.

"So what is it?"

The other people in the booth turned to look at him.

"What is it that they want? They never told me." He shrugged. She felt the curious gazes on her and rested a hand a lightly on her lower abdomen.

"It's the family curse." She chuckled darkly. "That's what my mom and aunt call it. The family curse. My uterus." She looked at their faces for a moment to make sure they understood the word and quickly explained to the blonde what that was when his face was nothing but a mask of confusion.

"It's the female organ that helps conception and carry of a child. Its Chakra enhanced." She blushed a bit. "Once sperm has been taken, and accepted, my body nurtures the child to it's full potential. For nine months the baby is incubated in a power source, growing and growing in size and power until … _boom_ … the best of both mommy and daddy.." She trailed off.

"So …. Why not just have it removed? You can remove a kidney right?" Naruto said, his mouth full.

"I could, my aunt did." She admitted. "But I don't _want_ to, I _want_ to have children, I _want_ to be a mom… what I don't want to be is an obligation." She shrugged.

"You shouldn't have to" Came Sasuke's quiet reply. "You shouldn't have to remove your organs to keep people away." Was Naruto's response to that.

She smiled a bit.

"Life's not simple." As they turned and left the ramen stand, the sun was rising. The colors bursting across the sky like beams of heaven. Pink and red and strips of purple dashed across the sky in the welcoming of the morning. A few people walked the streets now, in work clothing.

As the boys walked her home, and her belly sloshed with ramen, she noticed a crow on top of a building. She froze, but only for a step before starting to walk again. The crow was bulky, big, with beady red eyes. Beside the crow was a white owl. It's eyes big and opalescent. She shivered.

And them remembered,

"Hey Sasuke?" He acknowledged her with a look. She pointed up at the birds. "How much trouble are you going to be in when you get home?"

He paled.

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Neji leaned casually on the post on the training ground. His eyes shut tightly as he saw through that of his messengers. The girl having a late meal with the smaller Uchiha and the Fox carrier, finding his birds, and the elder Uchiha's.. Pointing them out. And then all three of the younger people disappearing into the pink haired woman's house at her mother's insistence.

He wondered briefly what they would do there. She looked dead on her feet and he had no doubt that she would soon be drifting to dreamland. The other two looked rather beat up as well, the younger Uchiha sporting a black eye. The Kyuubi container a bloodied lip and a bruised forehead.

His pinkette was unharmed though, not a scratch into her skin. He watched them talk, without hearing what they were talking about, as they sipped ramen and watched the sunrise. He felt a tug of longing on his heart watching them, going about life without the obligations that fell on the likes of he and the Uchiha and Nara, without the continued game of chess that they played.

But this felt like more than a game, that he had to admit. Sakura was more than a consolation prize. She was … soft. Like buttercream, sweet, and rich and creamy, and soft. Pliable. All the people in Konoha were stuck in their ways, but she was putty. She was malleable, someone who could learn, and teach, and value the things in life that others looked down on.

He didn't have to open his eyes, the shift in the wind telling him everything he needed to know about his visitor. The dark aura surrounding the person, the hulking bird in the tree behind him. He acknowledged him,

"Shisui."

**I do not own Naruto. **

**Please drop me a review let me know what you think! **

**Can't wait!**

**Next Chapter: Friends **


	8. Chapter 8: Friends

_Dancing with Gypsies_

I do not own Naruto

**Chapter Eight: Friends**

Sasuke twitched from his spot on the floor, there was a thick blanket under him, a quilt stretched over both he and Naruto. They were hiding out from Itachi in all honesty, and he knew if he went home right away his life would come to a swift end by the other end of his brother's sword.

Sakura, being the decent human being that she was, had offered the floor of her room as a shelter until his brother cooled off which he took gladly. Not just to hide out but also to wedge himself a little closer to her.

In all honesty, he felt bad. He knew what Itachi was like. He knew what the clans were like, and if he could do anything to protect her from them, he would.

She reminded him of a child, really. A little girl getting into a fist fight with a grown man. She had no chance. He and Naruto were experts at curbing the clans, and they agreed, when she ran to the bathroom, to do whatever they could to stall for at least a little bit.

Sakura's mother had warmed them up some tea,and let them use the downstairs bathroom to wash up before heading up to bed. She was warm hearted, bright smiles, and nothing like the women they'd encountered in the past. She laughed at Sakura's wild tale, thanked them for buying her daughter dinner, and insisted that they stay the night to hide out from Uchiha wrath until later in the day.

Sakura had tightly closed the blinds. The room was dark as night as they settled in to sleep. He felt Naruto's foot twitching, a sure sign of him giving into exhaustion, before Sakura spoke from her spot on her bed that loomed above them.

"Why'd you tell me that?" She asked.

He blinked in confusion and yanked some blanket from Naruto to cover his shoulders.

"Tell you what?"

Naruto flinched awake at the sound of their voices.

"About Itachi.. the Clans … everything." She rolled to look over the side of the bed at him resting her face on her hand. In the darkness he could make out her bright hair and white nightgown.

"You deserve to know what you're getting into," he replied honestly. "I wouldn't wish this on anyone, this life," he said, his voice cracked a bit at the end.

"This life? You mean clan life?" She tried to clarify.

"Yeah, the constant ragging, the meetings, the expectancy, the village attention. It's all too much." It was as if once he started talking he couldn't stop. "I mean, even just as second born, I have so much clan… shit to do. The clan is run by elders, my dad, and two other geezers who decide everything to do with my life, Itachi's life, and everyone else's life in the clan. Old world tradition takes precedence over everything else. If the clan told me to kill my mother, I would have to do it. They asked Itachi to kill the parents of this girl he went to home care with. Her mother used to babysit us. Her father was my mother's gardener. They'd been in the clan since it became the clan. However, they gave information to the Hyuuga's about us, and some of the information in the scroll room. 'Treason to your clan is punishable by the clan,' as stated by Konoha law."

Sakura gnawed anxiously on her lip. Naruto, who'd already heard the story, remained still and silent.

"He did it. After an ANBU mission, took their kids to a neighbors house, slaughtered them in their beds. ANBU cleared the bodies. The clan got a slap on the wrist, and life went on. The clan talked for years about how they were traitors… but … I don't know, something didn't feel right," he said.

"You think they didn't do it?" Sakura asked, fiddling with a curled pink lock. Both the boys shifted on the floor of the room.

"I don't know. Something just wasn't right. I don't see them doing something like that," he admitted. "They were so nice. They were elderly, they were… just regular working people. Something wasn't right."

She rolled over and stared at the wall.

"Something still isn't right."

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"Shisui," Neji acknowledged.

The tall man stood leaning against a wooden post. A large hawk fettered its wings next to him. It's large beady red eyes boring into his skin. The owl next to Neji's foot gave a squawk at the sight.

Shisui sighed. "We never could figure out how you mastered the birds. I thought you Hyuuga were all about the wolf," he said.

Neji smirked. "As it seems, I never quite mastered the wolf. Too… arrogant for me," he said. The Uchiha snorted.

"Yeah, 'cause two of ya' standin' around arrogant as all hell would be too much," he said as he fiddled with his black vest for a moment.

The stood in comfortable silence for some time watching the sun inch higher and higher in the sky.

"Is there a reason you're here or …?" Neji trailed off staring lightly in the forest.

"Yeah, I gave in to friendly competition," he said conversationally.

"Oh?"

"Yeah I came for a friendly warning." The two finally met eyes both of the odd colors, opalescent white and crimson red, bleeding into one another with age old rivalry fresh in the air. Their posture was stiff and their smiles fake.

"What's that?"

"_You wont win."_ The words were stage whispered. Carrying as easily through the air as if he were shouting.

"What makes you so sure?" He asked curiously.

"I mean, come on… You know Itachi, you've worked with him. He's got his head buried in this. He's not going anywhere," Shisui said. Picking at the ends of his hair, "Come on Hyuuga, you're not dumb. You know that the moment he gets his foot in this, he ain't comin' out."

The Hyuuga chuckled.

"But you're not stupid either," he said.

Shisui raised a black brow, "What do you mean?"

"Have you met the girl?" He asked.

Shisui didn't respond but that of itself was response enough.

"Go take a look, have a conversation, and you'll come to realization that he doesn't stand a chance. She'll never fall for him," Neji promised.

"And she'll fall for you?" The other asked.

The Hyuuga then had a far off look. He squinted a bit and then said, "I think the Uchiha should be less worried about me and more worried about the Nara."

It was a good strategy. Distract Itachi's attention off himself.

"There's a Nara problem?" Shisui asked.

"An obvious one. An exterminator is definitely needed," he assured.

The other nodded. Shisui looked toward his summon for a moment before shooting the pale eyed man a wink and disappearing in a flurry of feathers.

Neji continued to watch the sky.

And plotted. Always plotting.

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Mikoto Uchiha took a gentle sip of her tea and thumbed through a flower magazine. She was planning on making a trip to the Yamanaka store to buy seeds but would need an idea of what she was growing first. Her husband drank his tea next to her, a report in hand, and a frown on his face.

She scooted her chair closer and rubbed a thumb over his crinkled eye brow.

"What ails you my love?" She asked. She gazed into his dark eyes. She knew there were secrets in those eyes that would follow him to the grave, and she had no intention of asking him to spill them.

"This courtship is taking longer than I suspected," he admitted after a moment of silence. He probed the room before speaking more, searching for outside ears.

"It appears that the maiden is more stubborn than first believed. She would not have Itachi or any of the other males from the clan as she is convinced to marry for love. Her mother finally got her to at least appear for a meal with us, and now I'm concerned for how my children will behave," he said. He looked in her eyes for guidance.

She erupted in a laughter. Clutching the edge of the table and giggling like a mad woman.

"Oh, lovely husband of mine. If it is love that she wants who are we to strip her of that? It is love she will get," she said. "She's scared, I can see it. We must remain a united fort and support Itachi in his endeavor," she said.

"Itachi… my dear.. I fear he doesn't know how to love." The last part came out as a whisper,and the room was coveted in silence once more.

"Don't say such things." Came her harsh whisper. "Don't you dare even think such things he is a human-"

"He is beyond a human!" He whispered back in his own harsh tone.

"He can love! He loves me," she defended.

"You are his mother. Of course he loves you, but he barely loves Sasuke, and now we're asking him to try and love another person. Maybe… he wasn't born to feel that way."

He could see the slap coming and he let it happen. His wife's little hand battered his face once leaving a stinging sensation behind.

"He was not born that way. You made him that way. You didn't let him socialize. This clan didn't let him be a boy. He had to become a man," she hissed. She stood abruptly.

"Don't you ever speak of my son that way again." She left the room in a flourish.

In the wake of her leave, Fugaku thumbed the floral magazine open, and began to plan the bouquet to will his wife's anger away.

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Sasuke stretched his limbs as he entered the house around the noon time. The house was silent as usual as he made his way to his room, and was planning on bathing and falling into bed. As he crossed the kitchen to the living room he paused.

Itachi was seated in a high backed chair with a cup of tea gazing out the open window. The light seemed almost unnatural in their usually dark home. His brother's gaze slid from the tree's outside to him and they were bright flaming red.

He knew.

"Hello Little brother."

"Fuck."

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**Hello! Thank you for reading!**

**So Sasuke is a little OOC in this, but it's kind of a necessary evil. Big thanks to my beta! She made sure this didn't read like a fourth grader wrote it **

**Let me know what you think!**

**Upcoming Chapter: **_Gossip. _


	9. Chapter 9: Gossip

Dancing with Gypsies

Chapter Nine

_Gossip_

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Ino Yamanaka considered herself the queen of gossip, if there was something to be known about, she knew it first. She was relentless in this pursuit of information. She would do absolutely anything for the newest scoop to share at drink night with her two best gals, who always pretended not to be interested until someone they knew was involved.

Ino liked to think she was good at the gossip due to her uncanny ability to spot when something was amiss. Any nuance in the conversation she could hound out and ground into the dirt. She was a sleuth for information, but she also liked to think that she was trustworthy of her closest friends. She would never tell any of their gossip. That's why they generally didn't hide anything from her. Until now that is.

That's where Ino found herself, slumped over the counter in their usual luncheon restaurant, picking at her noodles with graceless strikes as her two best gals stared in worry at their friend's behavior.

"I don't know what he's hiding, but when I find out I swear!" She threatened again. Looking out the large window at the passersbys.

"Ino your lunch is getting cold." Hinata was at the pacification stage. Where she was still fruitlessly trying to calm her friend and ensure that no violence would take root.

"I don't give a damn about this soup right now," she hissed, "I want to know what's going on and I know that somebody knows something…" She then turned a vicious blue eye on them, "And you're going to help me!" She exclaimed.

"Ino …." TenTen said, her voice hesitant, getting involved in Ino drama was never a good thing.

"No, no.. this is big. I can feel it," she said pumping a fist on the table and taking a long sip of her tea. Her shoulders relaxing slightly.

"What's going on Ino … we can't get involved." Hinata was still trying to pacify, only noticing her mistake, when Ino's gaze snapped to her face, zoning in.

"What do you mean.. what's happened… you know what's happening?" She asked her voice vaguely threatening.

"No..No.. well, kind of.. yes, but I really can't say anything." The ebony haired girl was pleading.

"Hinata, do you have any idea how important this is to me? This is Shikamaru we're talking about, this is my teammate, and if something is going on with him, well… I deserve to know," she said, "He didn't show up to practice yesterday. Choji and I looked everywhere for him. His father said he'd been gone for a few days, and when we checked his apartment no was there. … that isn't fishy? Come on Hinata," she said gripping the chopsticks a bit too hard, snapping one of them.

The Hyuuga stressed underneath the stare and broke, picking absently at her meal, she confessed: "It's a clan thing. Neji's in on it too. They're doing courting processes. Shikamaru is probably a suitor."

Ino gasped.

"So is Itachi-sama," Hinata admitted and went about trying to drown herself in her cup of tea.

The table was encased in silence as two of the girls absorbed the information. "Neji-kun? Are you sure…" TenTen trailed off thinking of her friends suspicious behavior over the course of the last few weeks. He was there are training but his mind seemed absent. That didn't keep him from kicking both his teammates assess all up and down the training yard...but he wasn't all there. He'd started using his owl again. A creature that he only summoned when he needed the utmost stealth. One that he usually only used to spy on the clan heads, but the owl had been summoned multiple times this week. Then, for the first time ever, Neji declined a mission from ANBU stating he had a family matter to attend to.

Ino shuttered, "Shikamaru is chasing a girl? For his clan, that doesn't sound right. The Nara's don't care about that stuff," she said. She sounded a bit hysterical. "How the hell did I let this happen? Wasn't I in the junket? Why aren't all the hot shinobi in Konoha chasing me?" The blonde's face was flushed in anger. "Who the hell is it?" She snapped.

"She's a civilian," Hinata said.

"A Civilian!" She screeched.

"Her family has some sort of chakra enhanced womb. It retains power." Hinata said. "Or something like that."

"Well," Ino said setting a wad of money down on the table, "Lets go find her."

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Sakura flicked through the racks of dresses that lined the walls. The shop was located on a strip of business near the hospital and she was on a mission.

The hospital annual funding banquet was coming up and she wasn't wearing a hand-me-down like she'd done the year before. With her new income, she was going to purchase herself a new dress, or at least the pair of shoes that she couldn't stop staring at on the way in.

She woke in that morning to one of her companions gone, and other drooling on the floor. She kicked him awake and put him through the shower before urging him out the door. He was already late for something or that's what she picked up as he was shoveling cereal in his mouth. She fended off knowing looks from her mother as she gathered up her money and her satchel, promising to return before lunch.

She had jet out before her mother could begin to ask her lots of questions. She knew there was a dinner of some sort coming up that her mother wanted to discuss, but she was evading that conversation until absolutely necessary.

Now here she was, two stores deep and no dress, with nothing to prove from her trip. She promised herself she would wait until late afternoon before seeking out her new friends. Excitement bubbled in her chest at the prospect of having people to talk to that don't just work with her. Friends. She hadn't experienced such camaraderie since leaving the mountains.

She shrugged helplessly at the girl at the counter before exiting the store, shooting one last longing look at the shoes, before turning to make her way to the next one, but she paused mid step at the figure leaning against the storefront. A long dango stick dangling from his mouth.

"Uchiha-san? Out of the hospital already I see." Through the thudding of her heart, she tried to sound brave. He could probably smell fear.

"Due to excellent healing I have managed to recover rather quickly." The answer was swift, said in a monotonous tone that was fictitiously bored.

"Good. You'll have to thank the doctor," she said. She began to walk, hyper aware of him walking next to her.

"I'm going to have to thank my nurse first," he said. She stumbled on her next step but quickly recovered.

"No thanking is needed. Is that what you're here for?" She asked. Stopping, she turned to look at the man, an ink dot in all the color of the day. He was dressed to kill in all black. His inky hair blending in with his black shirt, but his eyes, once again, surprising her in their brightness.

"No, I came to inquire about my brother," he said. She rose a brow at his honesty. "I would like to know what he talked to you about last night."

She steeled underneath his gaze.

"You don't know?" The sarcasm dripped like caramel off her tongue. He narrowed his gaze at her.

"Honestly… he came to warn me off you, ya know. Told me you weren't the best pick of the three," she almost balked at her own honesty. Verbal vomit landing all over her conscience.

"Three? Oh… the Nara," his voice trailed off.

"I've got to commend his bravery, but you'll have to excuse him. He's defiant," he drew the sentence smoothly.

"And you're not?" She blurted.

"Not what?"

"Defiant."

He got a distant look in his eyes, "I suppose I am," he said.

He drew a black envelope out of what appeared to be thin air and handed it to her.

"I hope you will accept," he said and, like all the other shinobi in the this town, he disappeared in cloud of smoke.

In his place was a thick, black feather. She picked it up off the ground, absently fiddled it between her fingers, and stuck it in her satchel.

Since moving to this town, she found herself surrounded by individuals that were just like him. Interesting, mysterious, powerful, and, while she found herself enraptured with the behavior of the people in this town, she was beginning to miss the plain life of the mountains.

"I'm sure there's more where that came from." She spun around at the voice that came from behind her shoulder.

"What is this pick on Sakura day?" She asked him grouchily.

"People are picking on you?" He raised a snarky brow.

"I thought suitors were supposed to be nice." She began to rant. His brow raised even higher. "I thought that they were supposed to shower you in flowers and promise their hearts in return for a single kiss and all that jazz, protect you from the thorns on roses, and all that. Not just come in go in clouds of smoke," she said.

She began to pace away, still ranting. "I don't understand. Everything I know about Shinobi is just up in the air. All of you are just a bunch of street cats. I don't understand, I just don't." He pulled her arm to stop her and spun her to face him. They were almost in the middle of the busy street.

"Shut up." Her mouth snapped close. "First of all, I believe you did get showered in flowers, and just because you gave them all away doesn't mean that it never happened. Second of all, the only thing that you don't understand is dynamic. The clan dynamic in the town is a lot more complicated than in other villages. Lots of cloak and dagger," Shikamaru said.

"Dynamic," she tested the word out then shrugged, "Doesn't make it less confusing."

A smirked tugged at the edge of his lips as he racked his gaze up and down her form one solid time, "Thank goodness you've got a genius as a suitor," he said.

She huffed, "So you are suitor. Not just someone who wants to be my friend."

That made him take pause, "Just because I'm courting you doesn't mean I don't want you to be my friend."

She brushed it off for now. "So genius?"

He scoffed, "So I'm told."

"You going to show me the ropes?" She asked.

He peeked over her shoulder.

"Another time. Tomorrow," he promised.

"Why not today?"

Before he could answer his hand made a quick swipe for the black feather in her hand and vanished in, you guessed it, a cloud of smoke.

Before she had time to identify what had taken his place, she was shocked from her skin from a howl behind her.

"Sakura Haruno?"

She turned around and was met with what could only be described as an angry, blond, muscular woman. Whom must have been half goddess half kunoichi.

"Yes?"

"I've got a problem with you."

To be Continued.

* * *

**Hello Everyone! **

**I'm so glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you enjoy this one just as much! **

**I do not own Naruto**

**Chapter ten is almost done! **

Coming Up on Dancing With Gypsies**: Conversations**


	10. Chapter 10: Intent

I do not own Naruto

Chapter Ten

Intent

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"Excuse me?" Sakura stumbled back from her. Narrowing her eyes at the giant blond and her friends behind her. She took note that the dark haired girl had eyes like Neji. Opaque.

"You heard me. I've got a problem with you." The blond jut a finger at Sakura's chest.

She slapped the finger away, "lady I don't know you." She bit back. She pushed a hip out and glared singularly at the woman in front of her. She made point not to make eye contact with the women behind the blonde.

"Yeah well, you're about to." The blond snarled. The black haired girl put a hand on the blonde's shoulder, "Ino.. stop.." She whispered.

"I'm not doing anything wrong. I'm letting her know _I have a problem with her_…" The blond was hissing like a snake.

"And what exactly your problem?" They were so close their noses were practically touching.

The blond let out a forceful laugh. "That's rich honey." She spat.

"Not your honey."

"No, you're shikamaru's Honey." She said. That made her flinch back for a moment, was this Shikarmaru's _girlfriend_?

"I'm not anyone's honey." She said, trying to keep her voice steely.

"That's not what I hear." The blonde was still being pulled by her friends. The brunette one was whispering furiously at the onyx haired girl.

"You heard wrong." She assured.

"If you think you can just waltz your way in here and take what's rightfully ours you have got the situation inside ou-" The blonde stumbled back as Sakura gave her a rough shove.

"You think I wanted this? You think I asked for this, that I wanted people showing up at my door, all the looks, all the pressure? You think I want this? You think I asked for this. I don't want any of it. Take him, _take them_, you'll be more use than I am. All I am is an womb. An incubator, they don't even see me as a person, I'm not even a f_ucking_ person to them, all I am is a fuck and a baby maker. So you want this, you can have it. But don't pretend I asked for it, don't come to me like I've taken something from you. You don't even know me." She said.

It was silent then, just the blonde's heavy breathing was encompassing the space between them and Sakura was fighting the urge to start a fight she knew she couldn't win.

"Ino, we should just go." The brunette in buns was saying. The girl with Neji's eyes was looking at Sakura in a pleading manner. Except, Sakura didn't know what she was pleading for.

"I'm sorry about her." The brunette was saying, "You'd think as the heir to a clan she'd have a better understand of how they work." The words had a sharp edge to brunette gave an uncomfortable laugh. Sakura shrugged it off, mentally exhausted. She turned to walk away,

"What do you mean 'you didn't ask for this'" The blonde said. Sakura at first didn't think it was the blonde, 'Ino' who spoke because her voice was calm. Not he rage monster she'd heard before.

"I mean what I said, I didn't ask for it. This isn't something I wanted. They drew my name from the womb hat." She joked dumbly.

The blonde lowered her eyes. A look of thought came over her face. And the anger and Sakura braced herself for the blonde's rage again.

"Those bastards!" She shouted. She broke free from her friends and paced the walkway they were standing in.

"I tell ya' for a bunch of genius's they are the most stupid fucking people in this village! This is why we can't have nice things!" She was ranting. And Sakura was confused. And she didn't look like the only ones. The two companions also appeared to be at a loss when it came to Ino.

"That's just disgusting! Absolutely disgusting. I can't believe they even began to think that that would be okay. This is what I've been saying for years! These ancient clans have no morals, or personal value, or anything! The nerve of these men! And that's what it is to… the men!" Sakura interrupted with a confused and vague brush of the hand.

"I'm sorry are you mad at me or.." She trailed off. She was pulled into a quick, but bone crushing hug.

"No, of course not. I mean, I was.. but I cant believe the nerve of them. Putting you in this clan shit. I'm going to march my way to the Hokage right now and!-"

"That would be unnecessary, Ino." The voice was surly, tinged with a bit of a amusement and came from red pursed lips. The Hokage stood in front of them with her posse close behind. Her pig snorted and chewed at the little bits of grass on the dirt walk way.

"I understand your concern but I would like you to know I've got this all under control." She assured, and before Ino could protest, She held up a silencing hand. "If you would like to discuss this further I've got a clear spot on my schedule right before I leave tonight. I wont be discussing it in the street, and I hope that you would know better than to do so as well." They were all leveled with a look of finality.

"I'm glad you've found some friends girl." Was the last thing she said before her posse continued it's way down the street. And left the girls in confused and stunned silence.

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"The Hokage disapproves." Itachi said, suddenly, interrupting Shisui from a story he was telling that Itachi was not listening to. Shisui was gesturing crudely with two hands, out from his chest holding tight like a melon, and after having been stopped mid story he dropped his hands and scowled at his partner, who was sitting in the plains with him. Long wheat billowing gently in the breeze. Shisui sneezed.

"You weren't listening at all."

"And to make her disapproval so public…"

"Where did I lose you?" He demanded. The raven haired heir shrugged, "brothel in Suna." Shisui pursued his lips and glared at his friend.

"That was in the beginning.."

"What's her plan?" The other wasn't listening again.

"Does it matter?" He snapped. "She'll do what she wants anyways. It's not like we can stop her.." He trailed off at Itachi's look. And then sighed, _this is how shit gets started_, He thought, cryptically.

"But we're going to try." He didn't even try to keep the disdain from his voice. Shisui had been following Itachi on his 'adventures' so to speak for most of his life. Whether it be spying on clan heads, ANBU operatives, or the Hokage herself, they were always creeping into the darkness to find the light of truth. And that's what kept him at it. All the secretive, cloak and dagger of clan life was exhausting. Itachi was always looking for the grain of truth, and Shisui suspected that was why his obsession with the civilian girl had gone this far.

She had no reason to lie, no clan secrets to hold, and proved herself time and time again as transparent as she could possibly be. Shisui suspected he would try to preserve that. He had a feeling though, that soon Itachi was going to be a little more transparent himself.

"She knew we would be watching. She wanted to send the message, she's putting her piece to play before we do. Should we tell Fugaku?" Shisui asked. This was tentative. Most times, it was best to wait until Itachi had already played a couple of pieces before letting his father in on some content. Fugaku was less gentle about his approach, he used scare tactics and wasn't above blatant manipulation.

"No." Itachi said, finally. "We should see first if she proceeds to the Hokage tonight. If so, we find out what the Hokage's plan is. If she does not go, I don't suspect we have much to worry about until her second move. Now all we must do is find the intent of my brother and his blonde friend, and of course, check on our good friends."

_The Hyuuga's. _

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The Hyuuga house was bustling with preparation for the dinner. The finest of classes were being shined, food was being prepared and the wood on the tables and chairs were being fixed and polished. The patriarch of the home was finishing up work, so that his full attention could be given to their pink haired house guest when she arrived. The Matriarch was out with the maids, filling bouquets, finding gifts and finding the perfect silk for the evening.

However the young heir, was staring across from his female counterpart with disdain as she fidgeted across from his bed. He almost rolled over and went back to sleep during the time it took for her to speak.

"Neji-Kun." He almost rolled his eyes, but to refrain from having to hear her stutter attack he held back. "There's been a development." Her voice faded away as he had yet to respond to her. At the soft crook of an eyebrow she continued.

"Ino… knows about what's going on. And she's talking to Sakura. I think she's trying to convince her to choose Shikamaru." Hinata confessed. After speaking to her friend about the road incident Ino seemed quick to want to pawn Shikamaru off to the girl. Or at least, teach him some kind of lesson.

"And you think this will work?" He asked. Not even fidgeting.

"I think she can be really persuasive." Hinata said after a moment of silence.

"And I think … she's looking out for her best interests." She finally admitted. Neji sat up. The blankets pooled at his waist. Hinata quickly turned her eyes away out of modesty from his bare skin.

"You think she is better off with him, why?" It wasn't really a question.

"Why do you think he's not?" She challenged. Almost slapping a hand over her mouth at her crass objection.

Neji pulled his gaze from his cousin to his window. The light was dimming to midafternoon hours.

"I think I have good intentions. I cannot say for sure just yet." Hinata nodded, while dissatisfied with the answer she knew that was all she was going to get, that he'd already shared too much.

She pondered what those could be, as she dug through her closet for appropriate dinner attire, _good intentions_.

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**AN: My God, its been forever! If I ever take that long again spam my mail box! I need a good slap on the wrist! This chapter was all about intentions, shinning a light on what some people where looking for and we'll explore that further in our next installment, **_Good Intentions Part One. _

_Until Next Week! _


	11. Chapter 11: Good News (Interlude)

Hello,

Sadly, this is not another Chapter, that should come by the end of the week. This is a letter of apology. I have decided to change the name of the Fic from "Dancing with Gypsies" to "The Swan" because I didn't know the word 'gypsy' was a racial slur of sorts. And as a woman of a color with an interracial family I am particularly sensitive to these types of things. The use of the word was an ignorance on my part. Thank you, to the people who educated me on the subject instead of letting me continue my use of the word! I hope that we all take a note from this, that words are not just things that come out of our mouth, or things that we read on a page, they are things that matter. That are used to hurt and shame, and have a history and a record all of their own.

So that having been said,

Does anyone have a title they think would fit better? PM me or drop in the review box and If I Like it, and use it, you could get a sneak peek into later chapters, in the mean time! The next chapter should be arriving in a drop box near you By Sunday!


	12. Chapter 12: Intent (Part Two)

The Silence was absolutely deafening in the compound dining room. There was the slight clank of glasses, and throat clearing. All in all, Sakura was two more awkward sighs from making a full hearted attempt at drowning herself in her bowl of soup. She poked at the squares of Tofu bubbling up to the top and though that if she could eat those quickly and then just stick her face in the bowl…

"So Ms. Haruno, what are your hobbies?" Sakura looked at the head of the household, with is long brunette hair, greying slightly at the temples, Hiashi Hyuuga looked exactly as you thought he might. With regal shoulders and 'pompous ass' written all over him. She was curious though, about his thin eye brows and how he got them in that shape. She shook her head to clear it.

"I like … reading, and gardening, and cooking… I suppose.." She said. She picked at the tofu warily, avoiding the owl eyed gaze that had been narrowed on her for the better part of an hour. She wondered if he blinked or if he just stared awkwardly into space, like.. always. She was feeling her head beginning to throb. Her mother shifted next to her, taking a heavy sip of her alcohol.

Her mother, who had urged her to come, complimented her green dress all the way here, and then drunk herself into silence, abandoning Sakura to an odd fate of avoiding his eyes and smiling at a visibly nervous Hinata and fielding questions.

This was painful.

"When did you start nursing?" Hinata asked her. She was grateful for the woman's presence, she seemed like less of a stiff than her male counterparts that dotted the table and had asked many engaging questions in the lifetime that it seems like she'd been there.

"Full time just last year." She couldn't help but smile at the thought of her job. She had just the day before seen one of her patients who couldn't move the fingers on their left hand hold a cup for the first time in months.

"What's the best part, do you think?" She asked, and then rushed quickly, "I was thinking of maybe taking up nursing.."

"Oh Hinata, you'd be a great nurse! It's the most rewarding job, I swear." She smiled. The ebony haired woman broke into her own smile, it was toothy and shy, but it was beautiful.

"All you need is a little compassion for people to be a good nurse… that and a steady hand." She shrugged. The plates were cleared and a small plate with a small sponge cake was put down. Dessert. She wrinkled her nose. This was supposed to satisfy her sweet tooth?

"So Sakura have you considered our proposal?"

She almost spit out her cake. She hadn't expected him to be so blunt about it. She didn't really know what to say because the truth of the matter was that no, she hadn't. But she couldn't just say that.

She was about to mumble a reply when her mother finally spoke. Sakura was surprised at the clarity in her voice,

"What are your intentions with my daughter?" She asked Neji. Who, if she had known him better, appeared momentarily seemed taken aback at the question. He straightened his back, and looked down upon them. Sakura felt something falter in her, at the dark shining in his unusually light eyes.

"I intend to marry her."

"Beyond that, beyond bedding her, impregnating her, and putting some clunky ring on her finger. What are your intentions?"

Hiashi sent a sharp look at her mother, "Please, do not assu-" Neji held up a large hand, silencing him.

"I intend to let her live her life. Whatever she desires today, or tomorrow, or dreams that she may have, can come true under the Hyuuga umbrella. I desire to know more about her, of course, to assure we are compatible, and like all husbands and wife's she will assist me in future decisions for the Hyuuga clan."

That was unexpected, she thought. She hadn't thought of the position she would be in, as Clan head. Not that that was something she'd ever wanted, but she was … curious. Intrigued.

"I'm going to tell you something, and I hope you don't take offense. … or do, at this point.." Her mother shook her head and leaned forward like she was telling a secret.

"She's a smart girl. She's smart, and strong, and she's going to put up a fight. Are you ready for that? Are you going to be ready for a woman who wont take no for an answer, a woman who isn't going to kiss your feet, are you ready?" She asked.

Neji leaned in as well, like he was going to tell a secret of his own.

"I am."

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Itachi bent over the body, Shisui stood back, plugging his nose and they both turned to the Hokage. Who looked at them unforgiving.

"Found him outside, by the border." Itachi's eye jet up to the ANBU member who spoke, and looked back down at the body, tinted blue on a cold unforgiving stone.

"Only speak when spoken to." Shisui snarled at the boy. Border patrol ANBU were the lowest of the low and frequently showed their rank by not behaving in the way a higher would. It was a big pet peeve of Shisui's who was always quick to jump on their tails.

"How was he found?" Itachi asked the operative softly, the Hokage was there, with her medical gloves on, chart next to her. She'd had called them an hour and a half ago, they were seated at Dinner when the operatives came. This wasn't the first time they'd met with the Hokage in the room with the drain. They were called here at least once a month to solve some belated mystery the hokage only found fitting for the most private of people. But in the last month, three times, they had made way down. This was the third man.

"He was on his back, arms behind his back. Behind a fern." He answered.

"He's Mariko Lura, the owner of Glass, he supported the counsel run last year."

"More vigilante justice.." Shisui said. His nose was wrinkled in distaste, he hated this place. It smelled like death, he would always say. And Itachi would give him a look.

"The pattern is unmistakable. Ligature marks to the throat, wrists, and lower legs. However it appears.." Itachi turned the head.. "That this one was held down from the back. The ligature marks on the back of the neck suggests he may be left handed..."

Itachi assessed the cuts underneath the eyes, the water bloated face. Drowned, this one. Unlike burned, like the last one.

"Or perhaps, we have a team." Came a different voice. His eyes rose lazily to asses the newcomer, with his spikey hair, that was usually left in a pony tail, dripping down his shoulders, a black T-shirt and loose black pants, and of course, a cigarette in his mouth.

"Nara-San." He greeted.

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"And that's how it happened." Naruto finished. Ino was looking at him like he'd slapped her in the face.

"This is so scandalous, everyone around me has known about this girl for… days now? And no one's told me. I hate all of you." She took a deep sip of her drink. The bright pink drink, topped with sprinkles was a gift from Sasuke (more like a bribe) to get her off Naruto, as she was beating the man bloody.

Choji was three glasses down and working his way through his second appetizer and didn't have much to say about anything. Ino and he had tracked down team seven, while they were training. And Ino had immediately pounced on the blonde, he threw her off but once he realized who it was, and she was running, he gave chase. They ran circles until Ino got her hand into Naruto's slim pony tail that rode underneath the rest of his hair and took him down. Sasuke watched for a while, lounging with Choji in the grass as Ino and Naruto had a wrestling match.

When Naruto shot him pleading eyes it was then he stood and offered to take her to get a drink to cool off. They'd been hearing her ever since. Ino took another deep drink, turning her eyes skyward. There was a low thrum of music and many Shinobi strutting around.

"You know we've got to keep an eye on this right? Those idiots heads are too far up their asses to make good decisions at this point."

"Just a giant pissing contest." TenTen agree'd when she came back and sat down, with her own drink.

"Like most things in this town, we'll keep an eye."

"Cheers."

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You guys seriously need to make me stop waiting so long! SPAM me next time I take this long Christ… so mad at myself.

Forgive me with long haired Shika on top?

I do not own Naruto.

Thoughts?


	13. Chapter 13: Intent (Part Three)

I do not own Naruto

Chapter 13

_Intent _

_(Part Three)_

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The room with the drain was probably filled to the limit with geniuses, and yet, it was encased in silence. Both dark haired prodigy's had their heads bent over the body, closer than Shisui would ever put his head. They were both expressionless, humming quietly in their throat at ideas they had yet to share with the rest of the class. Tsunade leaned against a steel counter and waited. Shisui watched the ANBU patrol lean precariously against the walls and ogle the two.

"How many is this now?" Shisui quietly saddled up to the Hokage. She was examining a small chip in her red nail polish as if it had offended her.

"Four. " The word came out as a drug out sigh. "Hung, beat, burned, drown. Trying to make a scene, make it more violent every time." She said, she rubbed at her temples. The Hokage looked tired, she looked more worn that she had in a long time. And that probably had something to do with the body on the table. Shisui picked his teeth absently, wrinkling his nose at the smell. The two genius's were making notes in their notepads and talking quietly; they both leaned up at the same time.

"We wait." Itachi said, finally. The Hokage's brows shot up to her hair line.

"Excuse me?"

"There is no way to distinguish a pattern just quite yet. We can almost be assured that this was no shinobi." Shikamaru said, he leaned casually against a filing cabinet. He was unwrapping a sucker and putting the thing in his mouth. If Shisui was any less than the professional he was he would have missed the tension in his frame, he would have bypassed the quirk of his lips and the causal hanging on his right hand next to his pant pocket, there was a deceptive calm that Shisui was familiar with radiating from the boy, and for a moment, Shisui wondered if Itachi knew what he was going up against. But as his eyes flicked to his counterpart, he saw the same posture, the same tense, faux relaxed frame. There was something deadly about the master assassin that was both terrifying and fascinating.

"And how can you be so sure?" She asked, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Any Shinobi trained to kill in this way would not do so as sloppily as this was done. Therefore if this was a Shinobi, no doubt they would have left a chakra signature behind." Itachi said.

Shikamaru took the pop from his mouth, "When taught the methods of torture that this man is trying to emulate, there is a certain chakra path that one must take, from the feet up, there is no sign of that here. This is just … well, sloppily done." Shikamaru finished.

Shisui wished for a moment that he could take a photo of them. It was part of the whole prodigy persona to believe that you were one in a million but Shisui had seen enough prodigy's in his time to know that they were exactly the same.

"So.." He drew, garnering their attention.

"We wait." They said.

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The Hyuuga gardens were an elegant and ethereal place to visit. Like most things in the mansion, everything was done in black and white, the benches were smooth black marble, that must have weight over a thousand pounds. It was surrounded by white flowers, and Sakura wondered if they were dyed that way or if they somehow all grew in that way. The marble from the bench stretched down into a full circle, where a water fountain was waiting, the water was crystal clear, with just a hint of blue, that sparkled under the stars. It seemed as if the water as glinting, almost, like there were diamonds in the fountain causing the water the sparkle as bright as it was.

Or she was just as drunk as she thought she was.

But she walked toward it, almost propelled to do so. She could feel his presence at her back, he was walking slower, quieter than she was. But he was there, in his white robes. His footsteps were impossible to hear as he stalked behind her. They had decided after dessert, to go and check out the gardens, but Sakura figured that this was just a ploy so that her mother could interrogate the head of the household.

She took a seat next to she smoothed out the edges of her green dress, her shoes, black with an A-strap were tapping rhythmically on the marbled ground and water was roaring behind her, little drops hitting her arms and the back of her neck. She had twisted her hair up into a knot on the back of her head and while it was causing her head to hurt a little more than it already was she wasn't going to unravel the rats nest in front of her suitor.

The man sat down beside her and neatly folded his hands. Out of the corner of her eye she saw his long hair being picked up by the wind. Out of instinct she grasped a hold of one of the strands that blew her way and began to twirl it between her fingers, her drunk brain began to ask questions.

"Isn't this dangerous?" she asked. Her hands picked up more strands and began to comb through them, part of her, the sober part, knew she was going to regret this in the morning but she couldn't bring herself to stop. Touching a part of him made him seem more human, less the marble statue that he often appeared as.

"My hair?" He asked. His voice as soft, and deep. Very much soothing to the senses.

"Like, when you're fighting or something isn't it dangerous to have your hair dangling out for anyone to grab?" She asked. She had began to braid the strands. He didn't seem to mind.

"No." He said, after a moment of silence. "Any Shinobi of honor would never pull my hair. The type of shinobi that I encounter on a daily basis are not the kind that would subject themselves to such childish play." He said.

"But what about the Shinobi who… aren't of honor?" She asked.

"They are of no concern to me." He said.

"And why is that." She gave a tug on his hair that jerked his head to the side, it was accidental but she couldn't help but feel a bit satisfied at the action. She untangled her fingers and let his hair go before she yanked it some more. Her hand was only in her lap for a moment before he picked it up and put it back in his hair.

She massaged the roots before making her way down the long length. She noted some split ends at the end of his hair and a bit of frizz. She wondered if he put product in it.

"Because men who have no honor die quick. They are not people you fight, they are people you end." He said. She paused in her combing of his hair. The answer had been blunt and she wasn't expecting it. Her inebriated mind didn't know what to make of it, while it sounded pretty, in his voice everything sounded like poetry, but she was sure that what he was saying wasn't pretty at all, he just admitted that he killed people. That he ended them.

She knew deep down that all of her suitors had a considerable amount of blood on their hands, but to be so blatantly open about it wasn't something she was prepared for and she didn't know if she preferred to be in the dark or to know. As a nurse her first reaction was that all lives were precious, regardless of sin. She would revive a serial killer if she had to, just to see him to jail. And she knew that deep down that wasn't exactly the right thing to do either. But to talk so blatant about it as startling, this was part of his every day life.

Her hands had stopped moving through his hair and he grasped them and brought them down over his forehead, where she the backs of them brushed the smooth skin to his lap, where their hand lay intertwined.

"I hope I haven't upset you." He said, after a moment. "But you deserve to know that this is who I am, who all of us are." She knew who 'all of them' were – all of the suitors – somehow his words calmed her a bit, at least he was honest.

"I am a Shinobi, so I kill, I hurt, but I want you to know that I do it with honor."

Sakura wondered how much that meant to him.

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When waking up with a hangover there wasn't a lot one could do other than roll and groan. There was a rhythmic tapping on the floor and she rolled again, trapping her face between the mattress and a pillow. The tapping got louder.

She pushed her face further in, groaning into the fabric. She lifted her head up, thankful that the blinds were drawn as to protect her eyes from the gleaming sun. Her room looked just as it had before, with posters on the walls and her things lying about, her work uniform was pressed and hanging from the back of the door which was closed. The tapping was still going. She looked around for the source of her noise, her pounding head was an unforgiving presence. She rolled to the edge of the bed and looked over.

The only way to describe the scene was strange. Her new friends were tangled up all over the floor, Sasuke's head was buried in Naruto's rib cage. The large blonde was sprawled over her rug with her polka dot pink sheets draped over them. There was a bottle of alcohol on the floor and some weaponry. Sasuke was in a light state of dress, looking only to be in his underpants. While Sasuke appeared to be wearing Sasuke's clothes over his own as he curled up in a ball, obviously cold.

The rhythmic tapping didn't come from them, though. She pulled her curtains back a fraction of an inch, to reveal a bird, white in nature, tapping at the window. A beady eye looking right at her.


	14. Chapter 14: Poof

I do not own Naruto

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_Poof_

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They arrived at the doorstep of Sasuke's home in little to no time. Naruto was familiar with the scene, but it never failed to give him a case of the chills. The wrought iron fences were tall, and imposing, as usual. Naruto had the distinct memory of trying to jump them and getting caught on the piked tips. The birds lining the fence were extra loud that morning, or at least it felt like it. All the grass up to the entrance of the compound was dead. The two guards at the doors of the compound stood stiff like statues, wearing all black, they were the only signs of life around. The trees were all dead, there were no flowers, no playing children, just the deserted air of the compound. They shuffled past the guard with no problem, Sasuke giving them a once over with cool eyes.

As they walked inside, Sakura took in her surroundings. The homes inside the compound were all basically the same, tall, narrow homes. Not unlike her own, some with porches, some without. There were some children playing by a tree, that looked mostly dead but had ropes dangling from it, which they were swinging from. It was a creepy scene.

Sakura edged closer to Sasuke, "Do all Uchiha's live here?" She asked. She tucked a piece of frizzy pink hair behind her ear. After her shower she had just brushed it out and let it lay, too lazy to do anything else with it. So it had frizzed out over her shoulders. She had shrugged on a pair of tights and green dress over it. She had put on her sandals, and off they went. They first went to Naruto's where they gathered clothes for him and they were now going to Sasuke's.

"No." He answered. His eyes bounced from home to home, and then to the pinkette who had pulled her arms close to her chest.

"Only the main to third branch members live here. Which is a smaller amount than you would think. The rest of them live around the village. Most people with more than two children move closer to the city, its just convenient. Council members, staff, and most of the Uchiha officers live within the compound walls."

She took note that up further were another set of gates, these tall and black, but made of something close to wood. Tall, dark and impossible to see through. Sasuke must have lived there.

As they edged closer she noticed people staring, an older woman sweeping the steps of a home, staring wide eyed. She went to raise a hand to wave, when her hand was slapped down.

"Don't wave. Don't even acknowledge them." She took noticed that her rambunctious blonde haired friend was usually silent. She crept closer to Sasuke still.

As they approached the wooden gates, the house became sparser until there were none at all. And in a few more feet they were there. Sasuke pushed open the gate easily and they were led in. It was different than she thought it would be, _greener._ There were flowers and trees and bushes. There were butterflies and it even seemed like the air was clearer there. But it was also empty, and silent.

They went up a couple steps, through a sliding glass door, and they were in Sasuke's house. More specifically in Sasuke's kitchen. There was a lean, tall ebony haired woman at the counter, vigorously stirring something in a metal bowl. As the door slid shut she looked up, her eyes bounced from Sasuke, who was shrugging out of his shirt and dropping it on the floor. To Naruto who was kicking his shoes off, to Sakura, who was standing there, twisting the front of her dress. She immediately stopped her actions with the bowl and rushed over. One moment she was by the stove, the next she was directly in front of Sakura, who was still observing her surroundings.

"Well, Good morning, I didn't expect company this morning or I would have spruced up. I'm Mikoto Uchiha, it's an honor to meet you Haruno-Sama." She gave a short bow. Sakura blushed from the roots of her hair down her chest. She absentmindedly played with the thick straps of her dress.

"It's great to meet you, you can call me Sakura, though." The room was encased in silence after that, so Sasuke gave a grunt.

"Okay, we're going now." He gripped Sakura's shoulder and edged her around Mikoto and out of the kitchen.

"Wait! Are you guys hungry!" She shouted after Sasuke.

"Sure." He murmured back, but he knew that she heard him.

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Mikoto scoot out of the kitchen, edged around the living room and up the stairs silently. Her husbands office was the farthest room on the left and she crept her way there, bypassing all the family portraits and the random pair of shoes that were tumbled of the rug.

She pushed the door open without knocking and shut it solid. Fugaku looked up at her, with a quirked brow. His hand, which had a pen in it, was still over a piece of parchment. She danced closer to him, setting her nose on his nose. She could see the impatience in his eyes.

"Sakura Haruno is here. In the compound. With Sasuke." She said. She could see the words process, first agitation, then confusion, then rapid understanding.

He pushed from his chair.

"With Sasuke?" He whispered.

"Yes. They're friends. That's Sasuke's new friend." She murmured.

Fukagu, who was standing, hunched over his desk, eyes darting back and forth, spoke quietly to Mikoto.

"Whatever you do, keep Itachi away."

She scurried to do just that.

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Itachi knew the moment she entered the compound. He didn't even have to open his eyes. He was laying on his back on his bed, eyes closed, in the guise of rest. But the crows were talking, babbling really, in the back of his head. They had informed him of every movement she had made. And of the decision his parents had made.

Itachi would always say that he loved his mother, she was everything gentle in the world. She had raised him, and had been his only saving grace when he was nearly forced to go to academy before he could even talk. She was pure, untouchable in his eyes. But she was also foolish. In her security in his father, she had been walking blindly for some time. Fugaku had played it smart, given her some leeway and now she was prepared to do whatever it is that he asked her to do. Including try to stand in his way.

He didn't quite know what to think about his father most of the time. He couldn't stand the man for the most part, he was cowardly in his fight for his way. As clan leader he was mostly sloppy, people knew him as being somewhat of a snake. And while Itachi had inherited much of that, he knew that was not really the way of things. Fugaku had a lot of blood on other people's hands. But there was also a sense of respect there. He had garnered a lot of respect in the community, and was a savage business man.

He could hear his mother making way towards his wing, and closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath before she came in, inching toward his bed, where his faux sleep lay uninterrupted. He decided, with an internal smirk, to play a little game on his family, after all, he always won those.

And without much thought or movement, he vanished, with nothing but a hint of wind.

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Sakura bounced lightly on Sasuke's bed as he was buried torso first in his closet, rifling around. Naruto was leaned out the window, peering down at the gardens below. The two were bickering but not much was new there, they spent a lot of time doing that. If there was one thing that Sakura had learned about Shinobi, it was that they could bicker like no one else. There was more arguing about how they ended up sleeping in such awkward positioning last night.

She didn't know why she thought she could go to the Uchiha house and have nothing weird happen. She should have seen it coming, she should have seen this happening. Of all her suitors, Itachi was the most curious. She had spent less time with him than anyone, and exchanged many less words. She should have seen it coming.

She gave another bounce and this time a little higher. Head flying toward the ceiling. There really was no warning, she bounced up high again, intent to flop down onto her back on the bed, and then there was nothing. For a few moments she was nowhere. And then she was on the ground, outside.

It really did take the breath out of her, hitting the grass as hard as she did. Her legs in a fray. She didn't even have to open her eyes to know that the shadow that was Itachi was standing nearby. But she did anyway.

He was in long black pants and a white sleeved top. Hair swept back, looking as regal as ever. She noted from her position in the grass that he was barefoot.

"This is unpleasant." The words blurted from her mouth.

"Is it?" He drew. She pushed herself up on her elbows and stared at him, he was leaning casually against a tree, looking at the sky as if he planned to stay there forever.

"It is. Don't you have nicer ways of getting people to talk to you?" She asked.

"You assume I brought you here to talk. Maybe I brought you here so you could observe the sky with me." He said. He had a look on his face, that was hard to explain. A peace.

She laid back down in the grass and observed the sky. The clouds were shifting slowly but surely and the sun was in and out.

"So you really brought me out here to sit in silence." She was agitated. She jumped up, having no clue where she was but content to make her way back.

"Why do you like about your abilities?" He asked. She paused mid step, turning to stare at him. His face clear, expressionless.

"Not everyone wants to live under a microscope." She said. She crossed her arms over her chest, and gave him a stern look.

"And you believe that is what will happen to you?" He said. Though it wasn't really a question, it was poised more like a statement.

"It's what happened to all of you." His brow arched. "All of you bent prodigy's you lived under someone's thumb so when something exiting happens you all act like rebelling 13 year olds. Full of angst. Look, I'm not stupid." She stomped her foot into the ground. "I realize what I am is special, but why should anyone else have a say in what I do with that? I don't want to be a doctor. I want to be a nurse. If anyone were to find out about what I could do I would be forced to do all sorts of things I don't want to do. Therefore I keep my mouth shut." She said.

He seemed to be taking this all in, regal head not even moving.

"Is that all?" She asked. "Because if it is would you kindly poof me back into Sasuke's room?"

"No. I'd like to play a game."

That's when she began to sweat.

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**I refuse to give up on this story, I lost my groove there for a while but I'm BACK on it. Seriously, school, work and family kicked my butt. But I'm back! I've got a ton of free time now!**

**Anyway. **

**So, I've been working hard to develop these characters into actual people. I want you to sympathize, and laugh, and feel for them. Sakura is very OC but not so much her attitude, even though she's technically a civilian, I wanted her to remain this feisty awesome person, and I hope you guys get that. Anyway, next update coming probably in five days or so, it needs some editing and such, but It'll be posted!**

**All the love, **

**drop me a review! tell me what you think! **


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